MLS
Don Garber hints at MLS plan to lure Kylian Mbappé to the league
The MLS commissioner said that they would be “ambitious and innovative” to attract the biggest stars to MLS.
After succeeding in bringing Lionel Messi to the league, MLS commissioner Don Garber has responded to suggestions that French superstar Kylian Mbappé could one day be playing his football in the United States.
Messi has made an extraordinary start to life in MLS, boosting both Inter Miami’s performances on the pitch and the league’s standing in the world. The Argentine star has helped AppleTV to exceed subscription targets and is proving a boon for in-stadium attendances. But MLS is not stopping there.
British newspaper Daily Record reports that MLS officials are already preparing a deal to bring Mbappé to the league in future. Talks with Messi began four years before the Argentine eventually signed for Inter Miami and a similar approach will likely be required to bring Mbappé to MLS.
In a recent interview, Garber said that MLS would be “ambitious and innovative” to build a compensation package that could appeal to Mbappé.
“There was only one David Beckham, there’s only one Lionel Messi,” Garber said.
“But, you know, who knows? Mbappé wants to come into the league and a team in our MLS wants to do something unique? MLS is ambitious and innovative and who knows what kind of structure we’ll come up with.”
MLS’s Secondary Transfer Window closed last week, meaning that teams are no longer able to add players to their rosters for the remainder of the 2023 season. Mbappé is still under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until next summer, at which point he is widely expected to sign for Real Madrid on a free transfer.
With Mbappé set to leave anyway PSG would much rather sell him for a major transfer fee this summer than allow him to walk away for free next year. The French champions accepted a $300 million written offer from Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League earlier this summer but the 24-year-old refused to enter into contract negotiations.
A prospective Mbappé-MLS deal is likely still some years away but the Frenchman would be a prime target to continue the league’s tradition of transformative high profile signings.