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MLS

Commissioner Don Garber keen on Lionel Messi coming to MLS

The Argentine has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Miami, as his contract at Paris Saint-Germain enters its final months.

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Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Quarter Final - Netherlands v Argentina - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - December 9, 2022 Argentina's Lionel Messi during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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MLS commissioner Don Garber is keen for Lionel Messi to join the league but is very aware that any move would have to be “outside the box”.

The World Cup winner has been linked with a move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami in recent months as his contract at Paris Saint-Germain enters its final months.

In November, Messi’s representative Marcelo Mendez denied reports that the seven-time Ballon D’Or winner would join the MLS club at the end of the Ligue 1 season.

Negotiations between Messi and PSG regarding a new deal are reported to be ongoing but, with less than four months remaining on his agreement, he could become a free agent later this year.

If a move to the MLS was to materialise, Garber explained that they would need to be creative in order to complete the deal due to the league’s financial and salary cap rules.

“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,” he told The Athletic.

Don Garber le abre la puerta a San Diego: “Nos acerca a México”
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“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.