MLS commissioner Don Garber suggests 'David Beckham-like' deal for league to land Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi
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Updated 04/03/2023 at 09:28 GMT
MLS has signed its share of footballing legends. From David Beckham to Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, but the potential arrival of Lionel Messi would be something else again. League chief Don Garber has spoken of just how difficult it would be to facilitate the arrival of the World Cup-winning Argentinian superstar. But he also says 'never say never'.
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The deal that brought then-Real Madrid star and England captain David Beckham to MLS could be used by commissioner Don Garber to seal the agreement for Lionel Messi to follow suit.
The World Cup-winning icon is a free agent this summer, and rumours have long been swirling about his next club.
An emotional return to his former club Barcelona has been mooted and manager - as well as former Messi teammate - Xavi Hernandez has not ruled it out.
He said recently: "For Messi, this is his home, he has the doors open. He is a friend and we are in permanent contact. His return depends on him. Of course, he’s the best player in the world. The best player in history. He would always fit in the team."
Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reports that Barcelona would evade potentially complex financial regulations in La Liga by paying Messi the league's minimum wage and offering him a €100M payout after his final match.
Other options for Messi's next club include Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, reported by Marca to be prepared to offer him £78M to renew his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Arabian Peninsula.
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These dizzying sums would seem to rule out a move to MLS where the highest ever salary is £11.6M, currently paid to Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne.
Inter Miami have long been linked with a move for Messi at some stage in his career, and the time may finally have come.
Asked about the long-running rumours, Garber was non-committal but offered some insights into his thinking.
He told The Athletic: "You’re dealing with perhaps the most special player in the history of the game. So when there are rumours 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.”
Garber added "never say never".
Also chairman of MLS when the Beckham deal was sealed, Garber also says the league has the flexibility to make a move for Messi.
He continued: "Teams have the flexibility to do unique things. MLS is a single entity. If you’re selling something that the collective owns, the collective has to approve that. So whatever (Inter Miami owner) Jorge (Mas) decides...if we have the opportunity to do that, it’s going to be outside the box. "
When Beckham agreed to move to the Los Angeles Galaxy back in 2007, his deal included a clause that could be considered outside the box.
His deal stated that, pending certain conditions, Beckham would have the right to purchase an MLS expansion team for a fixed sum.
The England legend eventually parlayed that into his part ownership share of Inter Miami, the same club that hopes to lure Messi to America.
Garber is presumably implying a similar style of offer could be made to the current PSG star.
Another option for Messi would be to eschew the more financially rewarding options and instead make the move that has always been mentioned in connection with him, a return to boyhood club Newell's Old Boys.
Messi spent six years at the club, but left for Barcelona in 2000 as a teenager, having never made a senior appearance.
However, recent developments have reduced the potential of that outcome.
Newell's coach and former Messi teammate Gabriel Heinze confirmed an incident in which gunmen fired 14 shots at a store owned by Messi's family and left a threatening message.
Heinze then admitted: "Of course, this drives Leo and anyone else away. We are talking about this because he is Leo, but there are also many boys who would like to return [to Argentina].”
With a return to Argentina perhaps less likely, MLS retains a hope of making what would be the biggest signing in the league's history.
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