Major League Soccer want Lionel Messi, no matter how Don Garber may want to spin it, MLS’ Apple TV plan includes the arrival of a star that can transcend the league globally. With Lionel Messi’s contract coming to an end at PSG, it’s now or never for MLS.
Messi’s arrival to MLS would almost certainly mean a lot more global signups for MLS League Pass on Apple TV, today the only place one could see Messi in MLS. Although television requests to broadcast Messi’s games would go through the roof, how the league will handle that remains to be seen.
Bottomline is that MLS’ deal with Apple TV depends a lot on the league signing a major star, the biggest soccer star on the planet. Now according to a report from Sport, MLS is willing to pool their resources as all 29 teams, currently, would pay for the Argentine’s salary with Messi getting to choose his destination.
How Messi’s MLS contract would breakdown
According to the report, all of the current 29 MLS teams would pay a portion of Messi’s salary, with the Argentine star getting the final say as to which team he would play for.
According to reports the destinations are Miami, New York (2 clubs), Los Angeles (2 clubs) or Atlanta. With the Messi family having properties in Florida and the Miami area a move to Inter Miami seems like the likely destination, but Messi is also a born winner and going to an established team like NYCFC, LAFC, or Atlanta United could give Messi more of a chance at winning than the Miami club which is still a few years away from an MLS Cup contender.
Carlos Valderrama (Getty Images)
While the practice may seem innovative in MLS it is not the first time MLS has done something similar, in the early years of MLS the salaries of Roberto Donadoni, Carlos Valderrama, Jorge Campos, and Alain Sutter were reported to have been much higher than reported, meaning their clubs paid part of the salary while the league handled the rest, since MLS owns all player contracts it is basically the same deal as resources were pulled together to pay those stars.
Later on, David Beckham would get a once in a lifetime deal where AEG, the LA Galaxy owners, paid his MLS contract but the English international made money from jersey sales, parking, and even food sales at the stadium.
For Messi and MLS, the marriage seems like a no brainer especially since the Copa America 2024 and 2026 FIFA World Cup will be in the United States.
