MLS exploring ways to bring PSG star to US
Could Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe follow Lionel Messi to MLS? Don Garber, Commissioner of Major League Soccer in the United States, gave an interesting answer to this question, saying that the league could break some of its own rules to land the PSG forward.
As transfer drama swirls around Mbappe and PSG, MLS Commissioner Don Garber says that he may be willing to let one of his 20 clubs break MLS salary and transfer window rules to bring the 24-year-old World Cup finalist to the United States.
Who knows? Mbappe 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,” Garber said in an interview.
Football insider Duncan Castles of the Daily Record reports that the US league is “Emboldened by their success in persuading Lionel Messi to choose Inter Miami over offers from Barcelona and the Saudi Pro League.” Castles also writes that “the American move is both a short- and long-term play,” and MLS “regards discussions over deal shape as the beginning of a sustained courtship of a future Ballon d’Or winner.”
Currently, the MLS isn’t allowing transfers as the league’s secondary transfer window closed at the end of July. Per the letter of the league laws, bringing in new players wouldn’t be able to happen until the next window opens in January 2024.
Bringing Kylian Mbappe to MLS also wouldn’t be cheap. He turned down a €300 million offer from Saudi Arabia this summer, and PSG is looking for a €150 million transfer fee for the young goal-scorer.
Still, MLS has been creative with these kinds of transactions in the past. David Beckham got the opportunity to buy his Inter Miami expansion team at a massive discount as part of his deal, and Lionel Messi is getting a share of the league’s Apple TV revenue as part of his.
