Does Lionel Messi at Inter Miami 'overshadow' other MLS teams? League commissioner Don Garber explains importance of 'global recognition' in comparison with New York Yankees & Dallas Cowboys

The arrival of eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi in the United States during the summer of 2023 generated much fanfare, with the all-time great deciding to chase an American dream despite having rival offers on the table from Barcelona and teams in Saudi Arabia.

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Messi is now the biggest draw in MLS, with Inter Miami’s stock soaring, but League commissioner Garber has – using MLB and NFL as a comparison - told ESPN how that can be a positive: “I'm not concerned about it at all. We're trying to always open up our team and our league to those people that are fans of the sport that might not yet be fully committed to our clubs, and getting people here and around the world to follow MLS and experience it is a positive. Our job is to convert those fans into being passionate supporters of our league and our clubs. And if we have a brand that has global recognition like Inter Miami does, that's a positive. And I think you see that with clubs that are resonating around the world in all leagues. There are probably more followers of the New York Yankees around the world than there are of other Major League Baseball clubs. I think that's good for Major League Baseball and certainly followers of teams like the Dallas Cowboys and now the Kansas City Chiefs around the world -- that's good for the NFL. And now it's up to all of us to take that experience and spend time convincing all those new fans that MLS can really be important to their soccer connection, so I'm not concerned about it at all.”

Inter Miami have also added the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to a star-studded squad, with Garber adding when asked if MLS is focused on completing more marquee transfers: “I don't know. I think that our fan base and sometimes the media thinks that this is sort of a plan. You know, ‘Let's go sign X players so that we can achieve something in a particular market’, and it's really less about that. Teams are making decisions that work for them, work for them on the field, work for them off the field. There isn't a grand strategy that says, ‘Let's sign more big-name players’. Frankly, it's more about, how do we develop more competitive teams to continue our rivalry with Mexico? How can we be more relevant around the world and be more competitive against other clubs, our participation in Champions Cup? Then obviously that moves into the Club World Cup and how can we be more competitive in that tournament This is more about a long-term plan to grow the competitiveness of our league and the popularity of our teams and each club, and this is the key part of it: each club has got to decide how best that's going to work for them. The LA Galaxy had decided to do that with big-name players, and certainly Miami is looking to do that with the best player in the history of the game and a very South American focus, both at the technical level and the on-field level. Some teams are going to do it by trying to create a special experience locally.”

The new MLS campaign is due to get underway on Wednesday, with Inter Miami opening things up in a home date with Real Salt Lake. The Herons have four trophies to compete for in 2024, but a tumultuous pre-season suggests that they will not have things all their own way.