MLS Commissioner Fires Back at Egypt Director on Potential Mohamed Salah Transfer

Don Garber knows better than most how much MLS has progressed since the turn of the century.

MLS commissioner Don Garber went on the defensive. | Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Days after Egypt national team technical director Ibrahim Hassan tried to discourage Mohamed Salah from choosing Major League Soccer as his next destination, league commissioner Don Garber delivered an emphatic response in defense of MLS.

What comes next for Salah after his impending Liverpool exit has been a major topic in recent days. Hassan openly expressed his wish for the winger to stay in Europe, but even if there’s no enticing offers to stay, he suggested that the Saudi Pro League is a better alternative than being “too far out of the spotlight in MLS.”

In an interview with The Guardian, Garber tried to discredit Hassan’s comments by bringing up MLS’s biggest asset: Lionel Messi.

“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.”

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Don Garber on MLS’s Struggle For Validation

Don Garber attended the FIFA 2026 World Cup draw. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Although Garber said he hadn’t heard Hassan’s comments prior to the interview, the overall sentiment and subtext of the message delivered was all too familiar. For decades MLS and U.S. soccer in general has been side-eyed from across the Atlantic Ocean, regardless of the league’s growth in recent times.

“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 is right: MLS’s level has always been deemed as inferior not only in Europe but in the Americas as well. A reputation as a “retirement league” is hard to wash away, but Garber is also correct in his assessment that things are slowly changing.

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The Undeniable Rise of MLS Could Reach New Heights With Salah

Lionel Messi (left) joining MLS has helped the league grow significantly. | Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Garber has experienced first hand the meteoric rise MLS has experienced ever since he became league commissioner in 1999. The U.S. top flight has seen an influx of elite talent arrive at its shores and that’s spearheaded the league’s growth, but there have been improvements in many other departments as well.

“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.”

For the first time in history, an MLS team has featured in four straight Concacaf Champions Cup finals. MLS was also the league that supplied the most players to the 2022 World Cup outside of Europe’s top-five leagues. MLS’s decision to align its calendar with the best leagues in the world starting from 2027 was met with resounding approval, and it could help continue the league’s positive momentum.

Garber has already stated he’d love to see Salah in MLS. Although there’s nothing remotely certain yet, the Egyptian joining big-name players such as Messi, Thomas Müller, Son Heung-min, Antoine Griezmann and James Rodriguez this summer wouldn’t exactly be him opting to disappear from the spotlight.

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