MLS
Don Garber Pushes Back at Ibrahim Hassan’s Warning Over Mohamed Salah and MLS
Garber rejects Ibrahim Hassan’s warning on Salah, defending MLS with Messi, players and facilities..
Days after Egypt national team technical director Ibrahim Hassan tried to discourage Mohamed Salah from choosing Major League Soccer as his next destination, MLS commissioner Don Garber answered firmly in defence of the league.
In an interview with The Guardian, Garber specifically rebutted Hassan’s tone by invoking the league’s recent high-profile arrivals. “That’s the first time that I’ve ever heard anything like that,” Garber said in Hassan’s comments. “Leo Messi is the most popular player in the world. He was, and he still is. I’d be happy to send an Apple subscription to the head of the Egyptian FA so he can watch as many Messi games as he’d like.”
Garber framed Hassan’s remarks as part of a long-running skepticism aimed at MLS and U.S. soccer. He argued the attitude is familiar: leagues on this continent have often been viewed as inferior, a perception the commissioner said the competition is steadily outgrowing. “I think that Hassan’s point of view is very indicative of what MLS deals with as we develop as an aspiring major player on the world stage,” Garber said. “I can remember, not that long ago, Mexican national team coaches saying: ‘If you’re in MLS, you’re not going to play for our national team.’ That’s not the case today.
“We’re just constantly dealing with this perspective that we, Americans, will never get it, and it’s just not true. I’ve been dealing with skepticism for 27 years. It’s never stopped me, and it never will.”
Garber, who became league commissioner in 1999, has overseen a period of notable change. He pointed to the arrival of elite talent, improvements off the field and stronger pathways to Europe as evidence of progress. “We’ve got dozens of players [who came through MLS teams] playing in Europe,” Garber said. “We’ve got some of the best players in the world playing here. We have the best facilities if you put them up against any league in the world. We have a national team coach [Mauricio Pochettino ], who has been on the world’s stage, who believes in MLS.”
The exchange highlights the tension between established international opinion and MLS’s recent trajectory as it competes for elite signings and credibility.
Highest paid players
Why Inter Miami’s roster rules make signing Casemiro a near-impossible task
Inter Miami lack roster space and allocation funds to absorb Casemiro’s reported $20m annual salary.
As Casemiro approaches the end of his Manchester United contract, interest from Major League Soccer clubs has been widely reported. Inter Miami are often mentioned among suitors, but the club’s roster and salary mechanisms create a major barrier to signing the Brazilian midfielder.
Reports suggest Casemiro earns $20 million per season at Old Trafford. Inter Miami already have three designated players locked through the 2027–28 season: Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Germán Berterame. The club also has three players signed under the U-22 Initiative, the maximum permitted when a team carries three senior designated players. To add Berterame, Miami loaned a fourth U-22 Initiative player, Tomás Avilés, to CF Montréal.
Fabrizio Romano says the club are “really serious” about signing the Man Utd star, but the mechanics are complex. Miami could convert to two designated player slots to free a U-22 Initiative spot, yet that would allow only a younger signing, not a veteran aged 34 like Casemiro. A move would therefore likely require either replacing a current star or a deep roster rework.
Allocation tools also limit Miami’s options. Targeted Allocation Money is used to reduce a salary cap hit for players earning between $803,125 and $1,803,125, but Casemiro’s reported wages sit well above that range. General Allocation Money, which can buy down salaries under $803,125, is minimal for Miami; the club is reported to have only $17,361 in GAM. By comparison, the Colorado Rapids hold $6,380,121 for 2026, while Miami’s 2025 MLS Cup opponent, Vancouver Whitecaps, sit with $20,945.
Without selling or trading significant assets or shedding a designated player, the only practical way for Casemiro to join Inter Miami would be on a salary below $803,125. With the league team salary near the reported maximum of $6,425,000, adding another high-earner looks highly unlikely unless Miami undertakes a major roster upheaval.
Liverpool
Egypt team director urges Mohamed Salah to remain in Europe amid MLS interest
Egypt director: MLS would dim Mohamed Salah’s spotlight; he prefers to see him stay in Europe. today.
Egypt national team director Ibrahim Hassan has publicly advised against a move to Major League Soccer for departing Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah. Hassan highlighted Salah’s honours, noting the forward’s two Premier League titles and a Champions League title during a nine-year spell at Anfield, and said he would rather see the player remain in Europe.
“Personally, I would prefer him to stay in Europe,” Hassan told On Sports. “I have heard about offers from Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich and clubs in the Italian league.”
Hassan warned that a transfer to the United States would reduce Salah’s profile. “A move to the Major League? He would be far too out of the spotlight,” he said. He contrasted Salah’s potential move with Lionel Messi’s presence in MLS: “You won’t remember Salah any more than I remember (Lionel) Messi now, I don’t even try to watch him.”
The remarks come amid continued evidence of Messi’s commercial and sporting pull in the U.S. Inter Miami announced that its new stadium, Nu Stadium, will include a tribute called the Leo Messi Stand, which the club says is the first time an athlete who regularly plays at his home stadium will have a stand named in his honour. Messi has sold out major venues, most recently the M&T Bank Stadium when over 72,000 fans watched Inter Miami’s 2–1 win against DC United earlier this month.
Since arriving in South Florida in 2023, Messi has helped Inter Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup title, the 2024 Supporters’ Shield and the 2025 MLS Cup. He is also credited with contributing to the arrival of stars such as Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo De Paul and Son Heung-min to the league.
Inter Miami are not currently in negotiations to sign Salah, but MLS has shown interest at the league level. “Mo Salah is one of the great players in the history of the Premier League … I’d love to see him in our league,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters at the Sports Business Journal conference in Atlanta on Thursday.
Man Utd
Casemiro Enters Talks with Inter Miami as Free-Transfer Option Gains Traction
Casemiro has opened talks with Inter Miami over a potential free move MLS financial rules complicate
Casemiro and his representatives have opened formal discussions with Inter Miami over a potential free transfer this summer, setting the stage for a major career move once his Manchester United contract expires at the end of June. Major League Soccer has emerged as a leading destination for the five-time Champions League winner, with LA Galaxy previously linked but Inter Miami now viewed as the frontrunner.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Miami are “really serious” about the signing and have begun negotiations over terms that would not require any transfer fee paid to Manchester United. That leaves Inter Miami to agree a salary package and possibly a signing-on fee directly with Casemiro, a process that management and his representatives must complete ahead of a free-agent move.
The financial picture is complex. MLS enforces strict salary regulations that limit the majority of players to a maximum annual wage of $803,125, while Casemiro is reported to earn $20 million per season at Manchester United. Designated Player exceptions exist, allowing earnings outside the standard roster budget, but each club is limited to three DP slots and Inter Miami have filled those places for 2026.
Miami bolstered its marquee list at the turn of the year by signing Germán Berterame to join Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul as top earners following the retirements of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. De Paul was not initially a Designated Player when he signed in summer 2025, spending his first six months on loan before converting to DP status with a permanent switch in January. Luis Suárez has also been accommodated on Miami’s books in recent seasons without occupying the top bracket of earners.
Those precedents underline the question at the heart of this pursuit: does Inter Miami have the structure and league cooperation to align MLS rules with a deal for Casemiro? A club founded in 2018 that already hosts global stars could pursue creative solutions, and the midfielder is understood to be “keen” on a move. The attraction of Inter Miami for Casemiro supposedly boils down to three key factors.
