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- Lalas dismissed portrayals of Messi as "a saint"
- He emphasized Jorge Mas is exactly what MLS needs
- Hailed Thomas Muller and Son Heung-min ‘s potential move to MLS
USMNT legend and former MLS GM Alexi Lalas pushed back on claims that Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi was unfairly treated over the MLS All-Star Game, rejecting the idea that Messi is a victim and stressing the obligations that come with being the league’s biggest star.
“Fascinating in the way that it has been handled and the reaction to it,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “We all have either been involved or grown up watching All-Star games and the phenomenon of All-Star Game when it comes to multiple sports here. It’s very normal for us… But I will say that the framing that is happening right now of Messi as some saint, waging some righteous fight against the perceived evils and ills of MLS and its structure, or even the very concept of an MLS All-Star game.
“That’s a little rich, and that’s a little ridiculous. He signed his contract. He knew that playing in the All-Star game was part of his contract. So he knew the rules. So Messi, you need to grow up. You need to participate. And if you didn’t want to play in the All-Star game, you had the leverage at the moment you were signing your contract, and you should have negotiated for that.”
Lalas also praised Miami’s owner Jorge Mas, and praised him for attempting to do something big and bold, but believes the MLS is holding him back.
“I love Jorge Mas,” he said, “in that he is exactly what MLS needs, this aspirational type of disruptor, OK. And I know he’s going to defend his players…. But you can tell he wants to do more. And yeah, he wants the All-Star rule change…. But he wants to do more with his team and with MLS.”
Lalas believes MLS needs to lean more into its more ambitious owners if the league wants to continue to grow.
“I do believe that [Mas] is being held back, and it’s by design,” Lalas said. “For all this success in the last 30 years, I think MLS needs to be big, bold. I’ve said it before, they need to be arrogant in the most positive sense, going forward with those moon shots. And I think Jorge Mas is one of the owners who wants to do those types of things.”
READ MORE: How does MLS move forward from Messi’s All-Star absence?
With Thomas Muller reportedly interested in a move to the MLS, Lalas said that the Vancouver Whitecaps could be an interesting desitnation for the forward.
“The homas Muller thing is interesting,” Lalas said. “It’s interesting because you know, here’s a player that it seemed ageless, and so I still think he has a little bit in the tank. Vancouver’s interesting for him to of all the places to go for him to pick. Wonderful, wonderful city… Maybe he just loves Canada and something like that. I’m here for that.”
Not only that, with Tottenham forward Son Heung-min also linked with a transfer to the MLS and LAFC, Lalas says that signing the South Korean would be a great move by the club.
“I was at the Galaxy when Heng Yao Ming, another South Korean legend, came and played for the Galaxy,” Lalas said. “Just because you have a player from a certain country doesn’t mean that you know every Korean American is going to show up.. .From a playing perspective, obviously he’s incredibly gifted and talented, and it’s proven that for a number of years.
“And it almost kind of plays into because he is a big, big star and someone I think that not only from the Korean American community, but I just think soccer players and soccer fans in general recognize that, ‘Hey, this is somebody that I would want to go see whether it’s for LAFC or anybody else’. And I think LAFC could certainly use him.”
The MLS suspended both Alba and Messi, as both missed Inter Miami’s 0-0 draw with FC Cincinnati. They will be available for the Herons’ next MLS game.
Inter Miami will host Atlas next in the first game of their League Cup group stage on July 30 and then face Necaxa on Aug. 2 in their second game of the League Cup.
