MLS boss urges Harry Kane to follow Messi and Beckham before NFL dream

MLS commissioner Don Garber remains eager for England captain Harry Kane to join Lionel Messi in the United States, stating the forward's interest helps realise an ambition long championed by Sir David Beckham. The 33-year-old is shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or after delivering 73 goals for club and country throughout a campaign that included a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and a World Cup bronze medal. Showing no signs of waning, Kane celebrated a record-equalling 125th England cap by raising his international goal count to 91 during Tuesday’s 3-0 Nations League victory over Czechia. That performance concluded a four-match spell yielding six goals, which started with the striker outlining plans for a potential move to MLS alongside his ambition to play as an NFL kicker. “I’d love for him to do that,” commissioner Garber said. “I think, for me, it is the fulfilment of the dream that we had to build a proper soccer league that would drive a soccer nation. That sounds colloquial but actually we have that written down. “We wanted to create something that would have the Harry Kanes of the world say ‘I’d kind of like to play in MLS’. And I think Messi proved that. “That was a competitive process, working to ensure that we had a dynamic that would be better than going back to Barca, working a dynamic that would not have him want to play in Saudi Arabia. “Play in Miami, have them be able to build a new stadium and have him set records and be an MVP, and then have an unbelievable goodbye (this week) from his international career.” MLS commissioner Don Garber remains eager for England captain Harry Kane to join Lionel Messi in the United States, stating the forward's interest helps realise an ambition long championed by Sir David Beckham (Getty) Garber welcomes Kane’s keenness to move to MLS and is eternally grateful to another England captain as he prepares to step down from the post of commissioner he has held since 1999. Beckham’s move to LA Galaxy acted as the catalyst for the league’s growth, which only accelerated when the former midfielder helped form Inter Miami and sign Argentina great Messi in 2023. “I don’t think I would say one is more important than the other,” Garber said of the star duo’s impact. “David put this league on the path to credibility and respect. In the prime of his career, he came to LA. “He came into Major League Soccer and showed the world that this league can be competitive, it could be respected, it could be fun, it could have great players. “It attracted (Thierry) Henry and many, many other players right after that, so without David there’s probably no Major League Soccer. “That being said, Major League Soccer would not be the global phenomenon and not be sort of on the hearts and minds of just about anybody in the world without Leo Messi.” Harry Kane is in the running for the Ballon d’Or having scored 73 goals for club and country in a season that saw the striker win the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and clinching a bronze World Cup medal (Getty) Garber will become chairman at the turn of the year and is proud of his legacy with MLS, which was founded as part of the bid to hold the 1994 World Cup in a country that has just co-hosted the largest edition of the tournament. The 68-year-old says they have made the planet’s “biggest commercial market for the sport” during that time and is excited to see how they build on firm foundations. “We just went from a country road, now we’re getting onto the highway,” Garber told the Press Association. “And we’ve got to get better. “We have to have a league that is more competitive, that has an ability to get into the Club World Cup and win games. Miami won one. “Not just be there but have people think that an MLS team can compete against other clubs in the world.”