Liga MX chairman Mikel Arriola has spoken about the challenge of bringing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to North America. His comments come in the wake of a proposal to club together with the Mexican league with Major League Soccer – the premier division in the United States of America.
Arriola stated in an interview with ESPN that the joint league would be among the best in the world. The next logical step would then be to attract some of the biggest stars in world football, including the ageing but still influential – Messi and Ronaldo.
We would be one of the best leagues in the world,
said Arriola.
The next step would be to have Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo here [Mexico] or in the United States, perhaps in the final phase of their careers.
While MLS commissioner Don Garber has remained coy on the plans of a merger, the same was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in a recent news conference. Infantino recognized the potential each league possesses on its own and reiterated that a joint league could be among the best.
I think the potential in the United States and Mexico is enormous, each country by itself. But of course, if you could bring those two together that would be incredible and that could quite well be the best league in the world,
Infantino said.
Reports in the past have linked both Messi and Ronaldo with a move to the MLS. The former was said to be the subject of a Manchester City proposal that saw him finish his career in New York. On the other hand, Ronaldo continues to be linked with a Beckham-esque move to the US-based league.
Back in his Real Madrid days, the Portuguese even floated the idea of him going across the Atlantic in the future.
I mean, what’s happening there is great, it’s fantastic—maybe in the future will be a good chance for me to play there. You never know, but it’s something interesting. I consider it, of course, because as I’ve said, soccer there has become better and better, so why not? I think that this is maybe going to be possible,
he said in an interview with GQ.
Messi, too, has revealed his desire to go play in the ever-expanding league. His comments are more recent and were taken during the time of his contract dispute. In an interview with La Sexta, Messi said the following:
“I would like to play in the United States someday, it’s always been one of my dreams… but I don’t know if it will happen!”
Both the superstars have seen several of their colleagues depart for MLS in the past years. David Villa has played for New York City FC while former Juventus pair – Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain – is basking in Inter Miami’s sunshine.
The departures from Europe to Mexico, however, have been considerably less. The most prominent player currently playing in Liga MX is French star, André-Pierre Gignac. The forward has been at Tigres since 2015 and has scored a whopping 148 goals in 254 appearances. The ex-Marseille man is considered to be among the best European imports by any North American league in history. He was named the ‘Best Player’ and was the top scorer in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League, which Tigres won by beating Los Angeles FC in the final.
