“Everything is in place”- Inter Miami star Leo Messi confident the MLS can become an elite league

Inter Miami’s new player, Lionel Messi, has backed the Major League Soccer’s growth to gain more ground in the coming years.

New Inter Miami fan favourite and FIFA World Cup winner, Lionel Messi, has aired his thoughts on the potential the Major League Soccer possesses, and the heights the league can reach in the coming years, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Argentine made the switch to the United States of America’s first-tier football league after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired this summer. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner opted to join David Beckham’s side, a news that surprised a few fans, as some expected a return to Barcelona to be on the cards, or at least a move to a European top team, but the move to the United States signalled the end of his European career, drawing the curtains on the nineteen of stellar performances in France and Spain.

He wasted no time in setting the MLS on fire and has quickly become a fan favourite in just over a month since joining Inter Miami, scoring ten goals in seven games for The Herons Vice City, and is only just getting started. With a stereotype that the level of football in America is quite below, as compared to the level of football in Europe, the thirty-six-year-old believes that the MLS has all it takes to get to that level of leagues in Europe.

Speaking to ESPN, Messi said; “That growth depends a lot on the league. It’s a crucial moment to grow and there are important competitions coming up that will be played in this country. It’s time for the league to make that leap and finish growing, to finish looking for what it’s been asking for a while.”

Stars like Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Chicharito Hernandez have played in the MLS as well, and Messi mentioned that the growth of the League has been in the works, but now has the capacity to go even further. He added; “Like I said before, while it’s been growing all this time, it’s at a point where it can take another step. You have to take advantage of the good of soccer in the U.S. and globally Everything is in place here to witness top-level football, because of the country, the sports structure and other things. Hopefully, MLS can continue to grow in this way.”

The United States have an opportunity to make a name in the football world and continue the growth of soccer in the country as they are poised to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.