The 2023 Major League Soccer season was undeniably the year of Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi held the Ballon D’Or over his head as fireworks lit up the sky to bring a pregame ceremony to a close.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will play an exhibition match on Nov. 10 to celebrate him winning his eighth Ballon d’Or.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber figures Lionel Messi’s arrival is just the start of an exciting few years for soccer in North America.

Children donning jerseys of their favorite Major League Soccer teams joined first lady Jill Biden and players from FC Cincinnati, DC United, Chicago Fire and other teams for a youth soccer clinic on the White House South Lawn.

The 10-year, $2.5 billion partnership between Apple TV and MLS kicked off on Feb. 1 with the launch of Season Pass.

Major League Soccer hopes to pick a 30th team by the end of the year.

Apple has kicked off a 10-year partnership with Major League Soccer with the launch of Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Apple and Major League Soccer have announced a 10-year partnership on a streaming service that will allow fans to watch every game without local blackouts or restrictions.

Carlos Cordeiro is running to regain his job as U.S. Soccer Federation president, two years after he quit amid a backlash to the group’s lawyers filing legal papers claiming the women’s national team players had less physical ability and responsibility than their male counterparts.

Major League Soccer’s All-Stars will meet their top Mexican league counterparts in Los Angeles on Aug. 25 in a game that was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

United States' Sebastian Soto reacts at the end of a Concacaf Men's Olympic qualifying championship semi-final soccer match against Honduras in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sunday, March 28, 2021. Lalas maintains the burden to improve the Olympic effort lies with Kreis, senior national team coach Gregg Berhalter and U.S. men’s national team general manager Brian McBride. FIFA regulations say clubs don’t have to release players for Olympic qualifying or the Olympics. FIFA restricts Olympic qualifying to players 23 and under. AdNone of Honduras’ players on the roster for last week’s national team exhibition against Greece were Olympic age eligible.

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2020, file photo, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber speaks during the leagues 25th Season kickoff event in New York. Major League Soccer has extended its deadline for negotiating adjustments to the existing collective bargaining agreement until Feb. 4 and warned it is prepared to lock out players if a deal isn't reached by then. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)Major League Soccer and its players struck and agreement Friday night on a reworked collective bargaining agreement that will run through the 2027 season. The agreement reached Friday night gives the players their full salaries this season and extends the current CBA for two seasons. Major League Soccer had warned it's teams to prepare for a lockout if a deal wasn't struck.

Jones, one of the league's original players who spent his entire 11-year career with the Galaxy, was named one of the MLS 25 Greatest on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. When MLS contracted by two teams in 2002, Jones and his fellow players wondered if the fledgling domestic league was in trouble. MLS is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, commemorating it Wednesday with the release of the MLS 25 Greatest. “In the early days, (teams had) like 11 quality players and then all of a sudden there was a significant drop off. I think now you see that there’s 11 quality players and then you go beyond and there’s other quality players as well," he said.

Garber gave his annual State of the League address Tuesday in advance of the MLS Cup final Saturday between the Seattle Sounders and Columbus Crew in Ohio. Garber first projected in June that league losses would be $1 billion, and with the season nearing a close he said lost revenues were indeed approaching that number. We had the expense of managing the MLS is Back tournament,” Garber said. The league and the MLS Players' Association agreed to the new CBA in February, but it was never ratified and the deal was reworked to address coronavirus concerns before the MLS is Back tournament. "As you know, the Royals (of the National Women's Soccer League) announced that they will move to Kansas City.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department has entered into a sports dispute involving the company of a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, warning FIFA that a prohibition against staging league matches internationally could violate American antitrust laws. The letter from the Justice Department was included in a filing by Relevent on Tuesday seeking permission to amend its complaint by adding FIFA, soccer's governing body, as a defendant. Relevent alleges the stakeholders committee on Feb. 27 recommended the policy against international league matches be added to FIFA's statutes. Relevent withdrew its state court suit and filed this latest action in federal court, citing antitrust law. Delrahim wrote the department is raising the concerns to protect competition for the benefit of American consumers and soccer players."

Orlando players block a free kick by Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri (8), during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. Dario Zuparics first goal of the season gave Portland a 2-1 victory against Orlando in the MLS is Back finale Tuesday night. The goal set off a raucous celebration on the sideline and sent Orlando into panic mode. The Timbers, who spent 39 days in the MLS bubble and remained on West Coast time, hugged, danced and doused each other with water after the final whistle. Portlands experience the Timbers won the MLS title in 2015 and were runners-up two years ago showed in the finale. But considering Portland has managed just three clean sheets in its last 23 matches, it was no surprise to see a defensive breakdown just a few minutes later.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. In a year like no other, this will be a championship like no other. Orlando City and Portland will meet in the MLS is Back tournament finale Tuesday night, with the winner hoisting a trophy less than 24 hours before the league resumes its revised regular season in home markets. The World Cup-style format included 51 matches over 45 days at ESPNs Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World. Orlando and Portland emerged as the best of the bunch, both relying on staunch defense to get to the championship match. Defenders, sometimes, they dont get the credit when youre winning games, said Orlando coach Oscar Pareja, whose team hasnt allowed more than one goal in any tournament game.

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2020, file photo, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber speaks during the Major League Soccer 25th Season kickoff event in New York. Major League Soccer said Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, it will resume its season once the MLS is Back tournament in Florida wraps up. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)In light of Major League Baseball's trouble with its season, Major League Soccer's plan to resume play in its local markets is under scrutiny. The USL Championship, the tier below MLS in American soccer, has been playing in local markets since July 11 but there have been more than a dozen games postponed because of positive tests. 'Garber said that if circumstances merit it, he won't hesitate to pull the plug on the rest of the season.

ORLANDO, Fla. Nashville SC is the second team to drop out of the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release. Team officials said that after arriving in Orlando, nine players on the team have had confirmed positive test results for COVID-19. We have withdrawn Nashville SC from the MLS is Back Tournament. For every decision we make in our return to play, the wellbeing of our players, staff, officials and all participants is our top priority.FC Dallas was the first team to withdraw from the tournament, announcing the decision Monday after 10 players tested positive for coronavirus. To read more about the MLS is Back Tournament schedule, click here.

Major League Soccer MVP Carlos Vela will not accompany Los Angeles FC to the league's return tournament in Orlando this month. Vela announced his decision Monday, July 6, 2020, citing his concern for the health of his family, including his pregnant wife. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)Major League Soccer is about to resume its season in a state that has seen a huge spike in coronavirus infections, with one team absent because of a COVID-19 outbreak, and with plenty of worry about what will happen next. FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament on Monday after 10 players and a coach tested positive for the virus. We are proud of Major League Soccer, and we want to show our game to the world, Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said.

FC Dallas has withdrawn from the MLS is Back tournament in Florida after 10 players tested positive for coronavirus. FC Dallas announced last week that six players had tested positive upon arrival in Florida for the tournament, and the entire team was quarantined. Upon arrival, two players tested positive. In consultation with MLS medical officials, FC Dallas took proactive steps to isolate the newly affected players as well as all FC Dallas players and staff in Orlando out of an abundance of caution. The league said no other team was in contact with the FC Dallas delegation.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)Roger Goodell would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL this season. The NFL commissioner said during ESPN's The Return of Sports special on Monday that he is encouraging teams to sign the 32-year old quarterback, who hasn't played the past three seasons. If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously its gonna take a team to make that decision. I hope were at a point now where everybodys committed to making long-term, sustainable change, Goodell said.

When Major League Soccer and its players came to agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement back in February, there was a genuine feeling of accomplishment on both sides. Those pre-pandemic positive vibes are now gone, at least in how the players feel toward the league and ownership. The Major League Soccer Players Association ratified a revised CBA this week that will allow the league to resume this summer with a tournament in Florida but they did so with bitter feelings about the strategies used by MLS. FC Cincinnati player rep Nick Hagglund told reporters the lockout threat didnt create panic but was taken seriously by the vast majority of players. MLS players had a median salary of $163,750 in 2019, according to the union salary survey.