Lionel Messi: MLS needs to allow more spending for league to grow

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has some ideas for growing Major League Soccer, the league he recently signed on to play for through 2028 with Inter Miami.

"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 in an interview, conducted in Spanish and released Monday, with NBC Nightly News, when asked what he would do if he was the league's commissioner for a day.

Messi, who has not commented on the topic in the past, told NBC's Tom Llamas that he believes soccer, and specifically MLS, can grow in the United States. However, he said the league needs to do away with its restrictive spending limitations.

"I don't think that today all teams in the United States, all clubs, have the power to do that (sign without limitations), and I think that if they were given the freedom, many more important players would come and help the growth of the United States," Messi said.

Messi may be voicing this opinion publicly for the first time, but he is far from the first to question the league's various mechanisms -- drafts, the salary cap, GAM, TAM, the allocation order, discovery claims, etc. -- intended to restrict team spending.

Messi himself has profited heftily from his relationship with the league. He holds a minority ownership stake with Inter Miami and profits from revenue-sharing deals with Apple, MLS' media-rights holder, and Adidas, the league's apparel provider.

However, his $20.44 million salary is more than double that of Miami teammate Sergio Busquets, the third-highest salary in the league at about $8.8 million, highlighting the financial issue Messi wants the league to address. The MLS Players Association released its salary data list on Wednesday, with LAFC's Son Heung-Min second in salary at a guaranteed compensation of $11.2 million.

"I think that growing soccer in the United States is possible," said Messi, 38. "I think there are still big changes to be made so that teams can continue to grow, but I think there is a very important foundation in place where teams are prepared and want that growth, and I think it's time to do it."

Inter Miami is up 1-0 on Nashville SC in their first-round, best-of-three series of the MLS Cup playoffs. A win Saturday would send Inter Miami to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In what was a rare American media interview for the Argentine star, Messi expressed appreciation and optimism overall for the MLS team he plays for and partly owns.

"Today, the Inter Miami brand is very strong, not only in the United States but also globally," Messi said. "I think the club made a huge change and grew in every way, both athletically and institutionally, and I think it still has a lot more to grow and continue to improve in every way."

--Field Level Media