Don Garber hits back at Egypt executive who warned Salah against MLS move | MLS

In an interview with the Guardian, MLS commissioner Don Garber suggested that the Egyptian football official who urged Mohamed Salah to avoid the league should watch Lionel Messi play for Inter Miami.

Garber’s comments come after Egyptian national team director Ibrahim Hassan said Salah should stay in Europe when he leaves Liverpool because MLS is “too far from the spotlight”. Hassan later added that if Salah “does not receive offers from Europe, then a move to the Saudi league would be a good option.”

It’s an opinion Garber said he hadn’t heard until reading the Guardian’s comments.

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard anything like that,” Garber said in an interview at the league meetings in Sarasota, Fla., on Monday. “Leo Messi is the most popular player in the world. He was and still is. I would be happy to send an Apple subscription to the President of the Egyptian Federation so he can watch as many Messi matches as he wants.”

This is far from the first time that a senior football official has questioned the quality of MLS. In 2015, Sebastian Giovinco left Juventus and found instant success with Toronto FC, leading the once-moribund club to three MLS Cup finals in four seasons. But in 2016, Gian Piero Ventura excluded Giovinco from his Italy squads, saying “he plays in a championship that doesn’t have much importance”.

MLS has also proven to be a popular choice for veteran players trying to get in shape ahead of World Cups. As Wales prepared for their first match at the 2022 World Cup, team manager Rob Page said Gareth Bale joining Los Angeles FC the previous summer had “been the right decision” for the player. Colombian James Rodríguez hopes to repeat that feat with Minnesota United ahead of this summer’s tournament, while Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César has signed a short-term deal with Toronto FC ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

“I think that [Hassan’s] That view is very telling of what MLS is doing as we become an aspiring major player on the world stage,” Garber said Monday. “I remember, not too long ago, the coaches of the Mexican national team were saying, ‘If you’re in MLS, you’re not going to play for our national team.’ This is not the case today. We have national team players who have played in Major League Soccer, and we have two or three players who play for Argentina who play in MLS.

Notably, two of Mexico’s starters in Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Portugal played in MLS academies: Obed Vargas (20 years old) (Seattle) and Brian Gutiérrez (22 years old) (Chicago). Both players were highly touted dual U.S.-Mexican nationals whose commitment to El Tri strengthened the team’s midfielder pool.

MLS has provided the most players for 2022 World Cup squads of any league system beyond the established European Big Five, with 36 players selected to MLS rosters and one more to the third division developmental MLS Next Pro.

Nowadays, the league is generally ranked among the top 15 in the world according to various indicators. As of March 30, MLS sits 13th in Opta’s league power rankings, between the top divisions of Poland and Croatia, making it the third highest circuit outside of Europe after Argentina’s Liga Profesional (eighth) and Brazil’s Serie A (ninth). Currently, Opta ranks the Saudi Pro League as the 37th strongest league in the world.

Nonetheless, Hassan’s comments show that long-standing perception issues around the caliber of MLS remain. This week’s CSO meetings will be held in Sarasota to complement the GA Cup underway in nearby Bradenton. The youth tournament involved all 30 MLS academies among a field of 88 teams, with notable participants beyond the MLS ranks including the U-15 or U-16 teams of FC Barcelona, ​​Boca Juniors and FC Bayern Münich.

As a result, Garber, who said he would “love” to see Salah play in MLS, had no trouble backing up his answer with evidence of the league’s growth.

“We’re constantly faced with this perspective that we as Americans will never understand, and that’s simply not true,” Garber said. “We have dozens of players [who came through MLS teams] play in Europe. We have some of the best players in the world playing here. We have the best facilities if you compare them to any league in the world. We have a national team coach [Mauricio Pochettino]who has been on the world stage, who believes in Major League Soccer. I have struggled with skepticism for 27 years. This has never stopped me and it never will.