Garber sees Kane as the next dream MLS signing
MIAMI, FL — Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has made clear he would welcome Harry Kane in the United States, calling the Bayern Munich forward the kind of player the league set out to attract. Kane recently said he is interested in moving to North America someday, and Garber said that kind of interest shows MLS has become part of the global transfer conversation.
Kane, 33, remains one of the most productive strikers in world soccer. He recently marked his 125th England appearance by scoring his 91st international goal in a win over Czechia, and Garber said MLS would love to see him test himself in the league before any move into American football becomes more than a side note.
Messi's move showed MLS can win major recruiting battles
Garber said Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami helped prove that MLS can compete for elite talent against Europe’s biggest clubs and even the financial pull of Saudi Arabia. In his view, a player of Kane’s stature choosing MLS would be another sign that the league’s long-term plan is working.
He said the goal was always to build a proper soccer league that could make stars want to come here on their own terms. For Garber, that kind of pull is not just about marquee names; it is evidence that MLS has become a legitimate destination rather than a late-career stop.
Beckham's impact still shapes the league
Garber also pointed to David Beckham as the original turning point for MLS credibility. Beckham’s move to LA Galaxy brought worldwide attention to the league in the prime of his career, and Garber said it helped open the door for later arrivals such as Thierry Henry and others.
That momentum grew again when Beckham helped build Inter Miami and bring Messi to MLS in 2023. Garber said Beckham’s presence and Messi’s impact are major reasons the league is now part of the sport’s global center of gravity.
Garber says MLS now has the market to keep growing
Garber, who is set to step down as commissioner at the end of the year and become chairman, said the league’s progress reflects more than just star power. Since taking over in 1999, he has overseen MLS as it became the world’s largest commercial market for soccer.
The next challenge, he said, is turning that business success into more consistent results on the field against top clubs from Europe and South America. A signing like Kane, Garber believes, would be another step toward that goal.
Why Kane matters for American soccer
For MLS, a player like Kane would represent more than a headline. It would reinforce the league’s pitch to elite European players who might view the United States as both a strong sporting stage and a global platform.
With the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico still fresh in the minds of American fans, MLS continues to sell itself as part of a bigger soccer boom. Garber’s comments put Kane at the center of that ambition.
What happens next for MLS and Kane
Kane has not committed to a move to MLS, and Bayern Munich still has one of the game’s most reliable scorers leading its attack. But Garber’s comments make clear that MLS would view Kane as a dream target whenever that next chapter arrives.
For now, the conversation is about aspiration as much as reality. MLS wants the game’s biggest names to see the United States as a destination, and Garber is betting that Messi has already made that case stronger.
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