Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber revealed any plan to bring Lionel Messi to the league will likely be a similar deal to the one signed by David Beckham when he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy 16 years ago.
Messi - a World Cup champion after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar - is scheduled to be a free agent this summer and the legendary forward star is in negotiations with his current club Paris Saint-Germain about extending his stay in the French capital. However, the 35-year-old is also in talks with Inter Miami over a potential move.
Messi remains one of the best players in the world and won the Golden Ball at the World Cup, which ran in November and December. If the MLS is going to bring the Argentine to the United States, the league would ave to come up with major compensation to lure him away from Europe.
When Messi joined PSG, he reportedly signed a contract worth at least £22million annually as well as the same figure as a signing-on fee. Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne is currently the highest-paid player in the MLS with a salary of £11.6m - almost double the previous record high.
Recent reports suggested Saudi Arabian clubs are interested in paying Messi a deal similar to rival Cristiano Ronaldo ’s reported £62m annual contract at Al Nassr. As a result, a mega offer would be needed to persuade Messi to move across the Atlantic - and Garber suggested the MLS could pull some strings.
“You’re dealing with perhaps the most special player in the history of the game,” Garber told The Athletic on Thursday. “So when there are rumous of him connected to Miami, that’s great. And if it could happen, it would be terrific for MLS, it would be terrific for Messi and his family, and like everything with us, we try to run every opportunity down. I can’t give any more details than that because we don’t have them.”
He added: “Teams have the flexibility to do unique things. MLS is a single entity.”
Garber - who has been in his post since 1999 - admitted Messi would be an unprecedented signing even for the MLS, who has been the home of stars including Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Beckham. Garber once referred to Beckham as the MLS’s Michael Jordan after he arrived from Real Madrid in 2007.
The deal with Beckham included a clause that meant the former England captain had the option to buy an MLS expansion franchise for $25m (£20.7m). Garber revealed Beckham was also not allowed to set the franchise up in New York, while he had to play in the league for five years.
Back in 2017, Garber confirmed the MLS would never do a deal similar to Beckham’s contract signed in 2007. However, he appeared to backtrack this week, laughing as he said: “(Former MLS deputy commissioner Mark Abbott) used to say, ‘Never say never, because never is a long time’. I’ve been in the job a long time and that’s happened a lot.”
Messi is considered the greatest player in football history by many and his signing would prove to be a monumental one for North American soccer, even eclipsing Pele’s move to the New York Cosmos in 1975. Messi has 12 goals and 12 assists in 20 Ligue 1 matches for table-topping PSG this season, as well as four goals in six Champions League appearances.
