With Lionel Messi upset at Barcelona, MLS fans can dream of him coming to the United States to finish out his career.
Even though MLS has been trying to shed the retirement league image, there are a few players who have an open invitation to the league.
I don’t care if they are ancient when they come over, having Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi playing in MLS would be a big step for the league. One of these moves seems like it could actually happen relatively soon.
The soccer world was stunned when Barcelona was demolished by Bayen Munich 8-2 in the Champions League quarterfinals. A team of that caliber and value shouldn’t be getting demolished by Bayern. This game reminded you of the Germans defeating Brazil 7-1. It was total domination.
This loss has caused Messi to reevaluate things. Reportedly he wants out of Camp Nou.
Messi still seems to have plenty of gas left in the tank. At 33 years old, he made 33 appearances in LaLiga and was able to tally 25 goals and 21 assists. Messi is such a dynamic player. His skill and quickness are the best in the world. He simply makes plays and scores goals that no one else can.
Now, will Messi come to MLS? It’s rather unlikely. The man is still playing at such a high level. He could very well go to England, France, or even Italy. The question is who is willing to pay him. Imagine Ronaldo and Messi on the same team at Juve? What about Messi joining Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG?
The only MLS club that would appear to be in contention for Messi is Inter Miami. With David Beckham taking over, the team has shown they are willing to spend the big bucks. Even then, I don’t know if they could afford Messi?
The club and league have ties to Adidas, but that won’t be enough to bring Messi over. Beckham would pretty much have to beg for the Argentinian to come to the United States.
So even though it is a pipedream at this point, MLS fans can still dream of one day getting to see Messi play in the states. If somehow this does happen, it would be the most significant move to occur in the league’s young history. It would also signal that the league’s stature has improved and hopefully lead to more talented players deciding to come over.