Messi's message on MLS salary restrictions might be self-serving, but the larger point about change rings true
Lionel Messi doesn't do enough to promote Major League Soccer – or so we are told. The Argentina and Inter Miami star, since moving to the league, has drawn criticism in some corners for his reluctance to speak. He rarely grants interviews. He's never available to be quizzed by reporters after games.
Messi might have many thoughts. But few hear them, at least publicly.
In the last week, though, he has done two interviews. The timing makes sense. He just signed a contract extension with Inter Miami through 2028. And even if his mere existence in South Florida needs no publicity, these are the standard things you do after committing three more years of your life to America.
Messi is talking. A little. And most of his words seemed like excellent PR fodder. He said all of the right things about playing for Miami and American soccer. He teased the fact that he might or might not play at the World Cup (Lionel Messi is probably going to play at the World Cup).
But the one comment that has been picked up on repeatedly was in regard to MLS rules. He was asked by an interviewer if he would make any changes to the league. And he knew exactly what he wanted to say.
"Well, for starters, every team should have the opportunity to bring in players and sign whoever each team wants – without limitations or rules for players to bring them in," Messi said.
This is a tired point, to a large degree, and Messi isn't the first to make it. MLS probably should do something about its salary cap rules. But Messi's claim here doesn't read like a careful consideration of financial markets, or the general state of American soccer or flag-waving for the best interests of all 30 MLS teams.
Rather, this sounded an awful lot like a footballer who wants his own way, a player who doesn't talk, speaking up to push for the kind of signings he wants. The funny thing? Now might actually be the time for MLS to listen.
Getty Images SportThe salary debate
Messi is not the first to bring up the fact that MLS's byzantine salary rules aren't the best thing in the world. They, more generally, split opinion. It's pretty clear, at this point, that capping spending in some way – as the league currently does – limits the league's capacity to improve in quality.
But how, exactly, that should be changed is up for debate. Some have said that restrictions should be loosened, that the league should raise the cap. Others have called for a floor, effectively forcing the teams that are loath to spend to raise the base level.
The most beneficial middle ground would perhaps be the option to open up more designated player spots – and allow for more quality signings. Don't want to spend? Fine, but don't prevent other teams from doing so.
Other stars have picked up on a similar point. Thierry Henry slammed the system more than a decade ago after the Red Bulls lost star player Kenny Cooper due to cap restrictions.
"If you’re in any other league in the world, you keep your good players. Not in this league,” Henry said in 2013. "That’s just the way it is and that’s why most of the time you see players [moving] and being traded. It is an American way of dealing with things, salary cap, draft, trade."
There is a fine lineage of complaining here. Messi is now part of it.
AdvertisementAFPWhat unrestricted spending could do
It's not hard to figure out what more flexibility would mean, in the context of Messi's words: better players for Miami. There was speculation that the Herons might sign Neymar before the 2025 season. It was a fun story. Neymar and Messi are friends. It would complete another Barcelona reunion in Miami.
The parties would surely be wonderful for the Brazilian legend. Miami manager Javier Mascherano was asked about it at MLS media day and ruled out the signing immediately on the grounds that the club simply didn't have the cap flexibility to make it happen.
"We cannot talk about Ney because we have nothing," Mascherano said. "Obviously, Ney is a great player. Every coach in the world wants him but at the moment, but you know the MLS rules around the salary cap. So for us in this moment, it's impossible to try to think about him."
At the time, it was a throwaway comment in a room full of reporters. Everyone there knew that Miami couldn't wedge Neymar in under the cap – not at a veteran minimum salary that he certainly would not accept. But Mascherano vocalized that fact: it was a non-starter.
That does not mean, though, that a removal of a salary cap would encourage Messi to reunite all of his old teammates in Miami. More likely, it would allow for the construction of deeper and more complete rosters – albeit with a clear Albiceleste lineage. In Miami's case that would surely mean the presence of a few Argentine stars.
It is no secret that Messi has wanted to play with Angel Di Maria again. He probably wouldn't mind having Nicolas Otamendi at centerback, either. And then, there are the others. A deluge of Argentine teenagers – highly rated or otherwise – head to Europe every year to fight for spots.
But Franco Mastantuono, unlikely to make the grade in the big games at Real Madrid, for example, would be an excellent addition to play on the right for Miami.
Getty Images SportMiami, cheaters?
But the more pertinent point here is the fact that Messi is the one saying these words. The rest of MLS has long resented Miami for the way they go about things financially. The Herons have a clear appeal due to would-be signings, and in the past couple of years have deliberately stretched MLS financial rules in order to construct a star-heavy roster.
The irony? Messi is the one who takes up most of the cash. According to this week's salary release, Messi makes north of $20 million, nearly double the next highest paid player in the league, and more than the total spend of 21 other teams in MLS.
Throw in the hefty $8.8M that they pay to soon-to-retire Sergio Busquets, and their spending only gets more extravagant. In order to piece together the pieces around them, Miami have been sneaky – though some might say clever.
Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba are both on team-friendly contracts that are well below players of their quality or prestige. Rodrigo De Paul, signed this summer, is technically on a loan deal that will be made permanent at the end of the season.
To complement them, the Herons have made a series of other loan signings that really should be outside their scope. Tadeo Allende, an excellent addition in midfield, is here on loan. No team should be able to spend that much money – and then get such good quality players on the cheap. Miami can.
Getty ImagesPlayer power and speaking out
Yet for all of the anger rival fans might have built up, it's hard to begrudge Messi. Not because he finallygave an interview. Rather, MLS is a league that seems fairly content to run in place. It needs its stars to bring about change. This is no longer a setup that needs the safety net of restrictions.
That change, of course, can come from within boardrooms. But loud voices, in any sport, are instrumental in instigating meaningful conversations. Footballers abroad, for example, have repeatedly talked about load management and the demands on their bodies. Complaints from players themselves, along with fan furor, were key in ensuring that the much-maligned La Liga game set to be held in Miami was abandoned.
And sure, Messi is acting out of self interest here. He wants his old friends to play football with him in Miami. He likely isn't particularly happy that the Herons struggled so much at the Club World Cup, either.
But it is also true that the league will find it difficult to improve without significant investment from owners. Does Messi have that top of mind when he gives a rare interview? It's unclear. There is little evidence to suggest that Messi has a deep empathy for the plight of Montreal fans, for example. But he is certainly aware of the weight that his words may carry.
