MLS Commissioner Don Garber Dreams of Landing Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé

Los Angeles—On the eve of the league’s 31st campaign, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has set his ambitions sky-high, declaring that he “would love” to welcome Real Madrid’s global phenoms Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé to North American pitches.

Speaking to CNN Sports on Thursday, Garber underscored the shifting landscape that has transformed MLS from a 10-team experiment in 1999 into a 30-club powerhouse poised to greet a World Cup year.

“Would I love to see Vini here? Would I love to see Mbappé here?” Garber asked rhetorically. “I think that some of the great players in the world want to play in the US, and that’s the game changer.”

The comments come hours before Saturday’s season-opening blockbuster at the LA Coliseum, where more than 70,000 fans are expected to watch defending MLS Cup holder Inter Miami, led by Lionel Messi, face off against LAFC and their new star Son Heung-min. The South Korean forward is set to begin his first full MLS season after departing Tottenham Hotspur last summer.

Garber, 68, reflected on the watershed moment created by Messi’s 2023 arrival in Miami, a move even league insiders doubted was possible.

“I don’t think anybody thought we’d ever sign Leo,” he admitted. “I don’t think Miami thought they could sign him, I don’t think Beckham thought that they could sign him.”

Messi’s presence, Garber argued, has helped bury lingering questions about soccer’s viability in the United States.

“The days of ‘Is soccer going to make it in America’ are over,” he said, noting that MLS no longer needs to plead with elite talent to “come help us build it.” Instead, the league now markets itself as an established destination, with roughly 50 MLS players expected to feature in the upcoming World Cup.

Looking ahead, Garber believes MLS can eventually “compete at some point with the Premier League, with Serie A … the Bundesliga,” and he is “very confident” the next marquee addition will be “one of the top players in the world” arriving in—or remaining in—their prime.

For now, the commissioner is content to ride the “energy and momentum” of a new season, reiterating that MLS has become “a player on the world stage” and “amongst the major leagues here in North America.”

Whether that stage will soon include the explosive talents of Vinícius Júnior or Mbappé remains to be seen, but Garber’s message is clear: the invitation is open, and the league is ready.