Harry Kane already has his post-Bayern future mapped out — sign a new contract in Munich, move to MLS, then finish as an NFL kicker. And the man who runs Major League Soccer is very much on board with at least the middle part of that plan.
MLS commissioner Don Garber said he would "love" to see Kane make the move stateside, framing it as proof the league has become exactly what he set out to build over 25 years at the helm. "We wanted to create something that would have the Harry Kanes of the world say, I'd kind of like to play in MLS," Garber said. "And I think Messi proved that, too."
The Beckham Blueprint
The template exists. Beckham left Real Madrid for LA Galaxy in 2007 and, as Garber puts it, "without David, there's probably no major league soccer." Messi's arrival at Inter Miami then took it global. Kane would be the third act in that story — England's all-time top scorer arriving in the States as a proven, decorated centre-forward rather than a fading name cashing out.
There's also an unusually neat structural fit here. Seven MLS club owners also own NFL franchises, which means the crossover Kane is dreaming about — professional football to American football — is less far-fetched than it sounds from a logistics standpoint. No formal offer is on the table, but the door is open.
Kane's next Bayern deal is expected to run until 2029, so this remains a story for the back half of the decade. At 33 now, he'd be arriving in MLS around 38 or 39 — older than Messi's Inter Miami debut, though Messi has reset expectations for what players at that age can still deliver competitively.
What It Means for the League
Garber steps down on January 1, handing over to Larry Berg, and Kane's potential arrival would be someone else's headline to manage. But it speaks to the groundwork laid — more live football is now broadcast in the United States than any other sport, Antoine Griezmann has already made the move, and the 2026 World Cup on home soil is set to accelerate everything further.
For anyone tracking MLS expansion franchises or title markets further down the line, Kane's destination club would instantly become a talking point. A 38-year-old Kane is still likely to be among the most technically complete strikers in the league — that's the nature of the competition right now, and the nature of Kane.
Garber's parting line on his own tenure was characteristically measured: "I had the greatest job in sports, and I just thought it was the right time after the World Cup." Kane, apparently, might be thinking along similar lines — just on a slightly longer timeline.
