Lionel Messi’s power move: the rule he wants to change in MLS

When Lionel Messi arrived in Miami in 2023, MLS didn’t just sign a player, it signed a movement. Attendance records shattered, global audiences tuned in, and a league once seen as an afterthought became a talking point in world football. But now, the man who redefined the league’s visibility wants to redefine its rules.

Messi’s message: let the clubs build freely

In a recent interview with NBC, Messi made his stance clear. MLS has grown fast, but in his view, it’s time to stop holding itself back.

“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.

The salary caps and roster restrictions that make MLS unique were designed for balance, to prevent domination by a few. But Messi sees them as a ceiling, not a safety net.

“I don’t think that today all teams in the United States, all clubs, have the power to do that,” he added. “If they were given the freedom, many more important players would come and help the growth of the United States.”

The global lens

What Messi’s talking about isn’t just money, it’s attraction power. European clubs like Manchester City, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich built global empires through open markets. MLS, meanwhile, is still playing by its own economic playbook, one that often confuses foreign players, agents, and fans alike.

His comments echo what many insiders quietly discuss: the league has outgrown its own structure. With expansion franchises worth over $600 million and stadiums selling out weekly, the debate isn’t whether MLS can afford to grow, it’s whether it dares to.

Messi’s words aren’t just a suggestion. They’re a warning shot from the man who changed MLS overnight. If the league truly wants to compete with Europe, it can’t just borrow its stars, it has to borrow its ambition.

Freedom, not parity, might be the next big signing MLS needs.