With summer on the horizon, Lionel Messi's contract is closer to expiring, leading to swirling rumors about his future. With is deal up at the end of June, will he stay at PSG, return home to Barcelona, join Inter Miami in Major League Soccer or surprise us all with a shock move? The potential of coming to Miami has been something that won't go away with reports that a possible move could even include an ownership stake in the club.
Answering a question from CBS Sports in a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors on Tuesday, league commissioner Don Garber spoke about the potential of a move, saying that Messi "can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States."
"There isn't a league that wouldn't like to have Lionel Messi in their league," Garber said. "There are a lot of dynamics that are going on there. He's got a lot of things to think about in terms of where he wants to continue his career. I can tell you that we would love him in Major League Soccer. We will work very hard with Miami, who is the team that is hoping to be able to sign him, to come up with a program for him that will allow him to establish a legacy that I think could be unprecedented globally, let alone unprecedented here in our country because I think of him as someone who crosses so many barriers that he can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States. We have been pretty effective at coming up with clever ways to sign players for our clubs in the right market. It's very real-time and I hope that we're able to get in front of the discussion and hopefully bring something over the finish line."
MLS has found ways to entice stars to join the league in the past like how David Beckham got a fixed price for an expansion team in his league contract that eventually became Inter Miami. Strings were pulled to court between Clint Dempsey and Steven Gerrard as well and from Garber's statement, he's open to continuing to be flexible when needed to get stars like Messi.
Given the pull that Messi has, especially considering the large South American connection to Miami, it makes sense that Garber will do what he can as league commissioner to get a deal done. With the financial constraints of the league compared to Europe's biggest leagues, they can't offer a similar financial package to PSG at face value so they'd need to sweeten the pot with other incentives.
It would be worth it because the only comparable experience to Messi going to Miami was Pele joining the New York Cosmos back in the 1970s. That still is the biggest player move to ever happen within American soccer, but here is a chance to pick up arguably the greatest to ever do it at a time when the sport has never been more popular. Also, having him potentially be an owner down the road would keep him connected to the league for a very long time and continue to raise its global profile.
