TIM HOWARD: Soccer in the US has just five years to cash in on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s globetrotters… MLS must loosen its purse strings NOW to allow more super clubs to grow

In sports, I like the hunted vs. the hunters. The dynasties. The Big Six in the Premier League – there’s something special about that.

People would argue that parity is fun because – year to year – you don’t know what you’re going to get. But, ultimately, we like villains and heroes. The haves and the have nots.

Is there a way to bring that to Major League Soccer? To have two, three or four Super Teams, all playing simultaneously? Marquee teams, with top players, who are able to entice former teammates to come over. Inter Miami has done it with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and now Luis Suarez. I think that’s the way.

I started playing in Major League Soccer in 1998 and back then it would have been hard to imagine the scenes a couple of weeks back in El Salvador, where the Miami bus was mobbed at the start of its month-long world tour.

When David Beckham came over in 2007, all eyes were on LA Galaxy – and they did travel. But this is huge. During preseason, Miami will rack up 23,000 miles with more friendlies coming in Saudi Arabia, Japan and Hong Kong.

Messi has brought ex-teammates Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets to Florida

DailyMail.com’s sports columnist Tim Howard wants MLS to help clubs become global brands

Yes, it was a terrible look last Monday, when Messi and Co faced FC Dallas in front of near-empty stands. There’s no sidestepping that. It underlines how much further we still have to go.

But Miami can drag the rest of MLS upward – the league will flourish because of Messi and the commercial success and the branding. While you have that, you have to just drill it from every side.

But Messi is 36 – if he goes in a couple of years, and Busquets, Alba and Suarez go with him, what next? We have to strike while the iron’s hot. We have Messi, then the 2026 World Cup, then the fallout. We’re talking about a five-year space when you can really capitalize.

You’re going to have the best people in the world, the biggest television rights, the biggest sponsors, the best players – all in America. Then, afterwards, an opportunity to get the three or four best players in the world. That has to be the next goal. And that means loosening the salary cap. 

For the 2023 season, the budget for MLS clubs was $5.21million, with the average player earning no more than $651,250 a year. Cristiano Ronaldo nearly makes that in a DAY in Saudi Arabia. $220m a year… it’s crazy money. And, over in England, Premier League champions Manchester City spent more than $500m on player wages last season.

If I’m an owner of an MLS team, and I’m into it for half a billion dollars, I should be able to spend money creating a superpower. Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle – there are major cities with everything you need.

It was a terrible look when Messi and Co faced FC Dallas in front of near-empty stands 

Dallas’ Cotton Bowl was largely empty for Inter Miami’s 1-0 defeat in the preseason friendly

When I first started playing, there were mega financial restraints. They had to protect the structure of the league, or they would go bust. I totally get that. 

But now the United States is in a battle with Saudi Arabia to be the next big destination outside of Europe. The Saudi Pro League has done some really good things – big names have gone over and many are flourishing. If MLS teams are going to compete, you have to allow them to sign bigger and better players. More money, more eyes.

Globally-recognized teams are built off the back of individuals. The face could change every five years but you’re still drawn to players. Miami is building that now. The question is: can you get more of those players? If you can, you start to build that brand.

Take Barcelona. If someone leaves, you’re not going to say: ‘I’m not watching them anymore.’ Because you already know they’re going to bring the next one in. That’s the only way to get globally-recognized. Can Miami do that when Messi leaves? Because it’s won’t be very long until he does. Can they already have a sustainable model where they know who they’re going after? Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, someone in that realm – the next best thing.

MLS must find a way of allowing its teams to become global powerhouses. And they must do it now.

Messi, now 36, is preparing for his first full season of Major League Soccer with Inter Miami 

Messi collects his eighth Ballon d’Or alongside Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham in Paris

Don’t worry, Messi and Miami won’t suffer jet lag

I would be shocked if Inter Miami was not near the top of MLS this year.

There are fears that the hangover from all this travel and all these games will affect Messi and Co. I think that’s a convenient excuse.

I don’t buy it because preseason is for building fitness and sports science is the be-all and end-all of these clubs. They’re monitoring every single heartbeat of these players.

Preseason is hard, of course. It’s taxing on your body, you’re away from your family. It is draining. While in the Premier League, I went to the US, Hong Kong and Singapore. One year, we were due to head to Australia but the promoter never paid the money. So we didn’t go and the players were delighted not to be trekking around the world.

Managers are no different – they hate the commercial demands of touring, even if they appreciate the financial benefit these trips bring their club.

But spending more time with each other – having a coffee in the hotel lobby, playing some cards – is priceless. Trust has never been built on the pitch. It’s always built off it. So the more time you spend together, the more trust you build, the more you have each other’s back and the more late goals you score.

Tata Martino’s Inter Miami will enter the 2024 MLS season as one of the favorites to triumph

Why I back Fifa’s World Cup choices 

I was surprised to read that the 2026 World Cup final is likely to be held in Dallas. Like everyone, I assumed it was going to be in New York or Los Angeles – those are the marquee cities and that’s where the marquee games have always been.

But I have played in Cowboys Stadium. It’s absolutely brilliant and they do it big in Dallas. They do it big in Texas. So the world will show up, America will show up, Texas will show up. It’s a great choice. 

There have also been complaints about Fifa’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams. It’s incredible to see minnows qualify but a few great soccer countries are missing from every World Cup. 

You could say: that’s the breaks. But when Italy or Holland or Chile miss out – I want to see them there. I like the expansion because I’m in favor of having as many of the best teams at a World Cup as possible.

The AT&T Stadium in Texas is set to host the 2026 World Cup final ahead of MetLife Stadium

It would be catastrophic for Liverpool’s communities if Everton were to go down

Everton fans are an extremely proud bunch and the fact that my former team have never been relegated from the Premier League is something they hang their hat on. 

Aston Villa, Newcastle and Leeds have all gone down but this would be the biggest relegation in history: Everton are one of the few founding clubs never to drop out of the Premier League. They haven’t been outside the top flight since the 1950s. 

Ending that streak is obviously not something that Evertonians want to think about – even as they face a second possible points deduction. Sean Dyche and his players have already recovered once from being docked 10 points for breaching financial rules. Another 10 would surely be fatal.

Everton’s work in the areas around Goodison Park is second to none in the Premier League

Relegation would impact the people who work there. It would impact the outreach that you can do in the community – and Everton’s community program is second to none in the Premier League. It’s such a caring club. Every manager I had would say: ‘This is important. You’re going to do the work that Everton in the Community want.’

But with relegation, budgets get slashed – not cut. People lose jobs. That affects the entire ecosystem of the community – there’s no doubt. We understand the financial windfall from the Premier League and how it sustains these communities.

If Everton go down, it would be catastrophic.