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 versus the hunters. The dynasties. The Big Six in the Premier League, there is something special about it.

People would argue that equality is nice because – from year to year – you don’t know what you’re going to get. But at the end of the day, we love 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 at the same time? Marquee teams, with top players, who manage to entice former teammates to come along. 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 at the time it was hard to imagine the scenes a few weeks ago in El Salvador where the Miami bus was mobbed at the start of its months-long world tour.

When David Beckham came calling in 2007, all eyes were on LA Galaxy – and they traveled too. But this is huge. During the preseason, Miami will rack up 27,000 miles with more friendlies in Saudi Arabia, Japan and Hong Kong.

Yes, it was a terrible sight last Monday, when Messi and Co faced FC Dallas in front of almost empty stands. There is no escaping that. It underlines how much further we still have to go.

But Miami can pull the rest of the MLS up – the league will thrive thanks to Messi and the commercial success and branding. While you have that, you just have to drill it from all sides.

But Messi is 36. If he leaves in a few years, and Busquets, Alba and Suarez go with him, what now? We must strike while the iron is hot. We have Messi, then the 2026 World Cup, and then the consequences. We’re talking about a five-year period where you can really benefit.

You will have the best people in the world, the biggest television rights, the biggest sponsors, the best players – all in America. Then there’s the chance to get the three or four best players in the world. That should be the next goal. And that means that the salary cap must be abandoned.

For the 2024 season, the budget for MLS clubs is projected at $5.47 million, with the average player earning no more than $683,750 per year. Cristiano Ronaldo almost makes that in a DAY in Saudi Arabia. $220 million a year… it’s crazy money. And in England, Premier League champion Manchester City spent more than $500 million on player wages last season.

If I own an MLS team and I want to spend half a billion dollars on it, I should be able to spend money on creating a superpower. Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle – there are big cities with everything you need.

When I first started playing there were huge financial constraints. They had to protect the structure of the league or they would go bankrupt. I completely understand that.

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

Globally recognized teams are built on the backs of individuals. The face may change every five years, but you are still attracted to players. Miami is building that now. The question is: can you get more of those players? If you can, start building that brand.

Take Barcelona. When someone leaves, you don’t say, “I’m not looking at him anymore.” Because you already know they will introduce the next one. That’s the only way to get global recognition. Can Miami do that if Messi leaves? Because it won’t be long before he does. Can they already have a sustainable model where they know who they are looking for? Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, someone from that realm, the next best thing.

The MLS must find a way for its teams to become global powerhouses. And they have to do it now.

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

I would be shocked if Inter Miami weren’t at the top of the MLS this year.

There are fears that the hangover from all this traveling and all these matches will have consequences for Messi and Co. I think that’s a convenient excuse.

I don’t buy it because the preseason is to build fitness and sports science is the most important thing for these clubs. They are watching every heartbeat of these players.

The preseason is of course difficult. It puts a strain on your body, you are away from your family. It’s deflating. While I was in the Premier League I went to the US, Hong Kong and Singapore. We were supposed to go to Australia in a year, but the promoter never paid the money. So we didn’t go and the players were happy that they weren’t going to travel around the world.

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

But spending more time together – having a cup of coffee in the hotel lobby, playing some cards – is priceless. Trust was never built on the field. It has always been built on that. So the more time you spend together, the more trust you build, the more you support each other and the more often you score late goals.

Why I support FIFA’s World Cup picks

I was surprised to read that the 2026 World Cup final will probably take place in Dallas. Like everyone else, I assumed it would be in New York or Los Angeles – those are the big cities and that’s where the big games have always been.

But I played in Cowboys Stadium. It’s absolutely brilliant and they’re doing it big in Dallas. They’re doing it big in Texas. So the world will appear, America will appear, Texas will appear. 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 there are some great footballing nations missing from every World Cup.

You could say: those are the breaks. But if Italy, the Netherlands or Chile miss it, I want to see them there. I like the expansion because I am in favor of having as many of the best teams as possible at a World Cup.

It would be catastrophic for the communities of Liverpool if Everton were to go under

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 fallen, but this would be the biggest relegation in history: Everton are one of the few clubs never to have left the Premier League. They haven’t been outside the top flight since the 1950s.

Clearly ending that run is not something Evertonians want to think about, even as they face a second possible points deduction. Sean Dyche and his players have already been reinstated once after being given 10 points for breaching financial rules. Another ten would certainly be fatal.

Relegation would have consequences for the people who work there. It would impact the outreach 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 said, ‘This is important. You will do the work Everton want in the Community.”

But relegation reduces budgets, not cuts. People are losing jobs. That impacts the entire ecosystem of the community, there’s no doubt about it. We understand the financial windfall of the Premier League and how it sustains these communities.

If Everton go down, it would be catastrophic.