David Beckham has become one of American sport’s greatest icons, according to MLS commissioner Don Garber.
And he believes former England captain Beckham can have as big an impact as a club owner as he did as a player.
The midfielder, now 42, helped transform soccer in the United States during his five years at LA Galaxy and is on the verge of launching his own team in Miami.
The announcement is expected this month and it will confirm Beckham’s status as arguably the biggest name in the history of British sport and football’s most famous export.
Garber said: “In our leagues here, there have been transformational athletes. It’s an interesting thing.
“Wayne Gretzky was a transformational figure for [ice-hockey's] National Hockey League, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were transformational players who took the NBA from what it was to what it is today in many ways.
“David was today for us, where we are now, that transformational player.
"He was our Michael Jordan, our Wayne Gretzky.
“When you think about the great players of our generation, there’s only a handful of them that have driven the success of the league.
“My guess is that Ligue 1 think that Neymar will probably do that for the French league.
"David is a very bright guy, very committed to our country and our league. Very committed to the city of Miami. I think we can get things closed then it will be a great success and it will be great to have him as an owner. He was a great player for us.
“With the right city, the right location, the right energy behind it, it will be successful.”
Beckham was a game-changer for the sport in the United States, taking soccer to another level and he insisted upon having ownership rights written into his playing contract.
After years of battling to get the land, funding and approvals, Beckham is on the brink of another huge announcement which will push the profile of MLS to an even greater level.
There is also another underlying target for the United States as they hope the ever-growing profile of the sport will help them land the even bigger prize of staging the 2026 World Cup.
The attendances are on the rise, stadiums are spectacular, they are attracting bigger players and New York City striker David Villa’s recall to the Spain squad shows the standard of the MLS is being taken seriously by major nations.
It fits perfectly with Beckham’s arrival as a club owner as Miami will have its own team possibly in two years’ time, more likely by 2020, but the MLS are set to finally give the green light with an announcement to follow imminently.
Garber said: “I’m a big believer that just because you are a professional athlete doesn’t mean you don’t have the capabilities to be a good sports team owner. It’s actually the other way round.
“Coming up with the game and understanding the intricacies of it, I think a guy like David would be a fantastic owner.
"He was the guy who came here and basically said: ‘It’s OK, this league is alright. It’s not the Premier League, but that’s OK. It’s focused, good brands, good teams and is embedded in the community.'
“He left a team which had just won the championship in Spain, got AC Milan chasing after him and he wants to play for the LA Galaxy.
“That idea, that sort of respect, reverberated around the world and told everyone that the league is serious. It’s very different from the way players are going to China or players went to the Middle East. It was just about a player trying to make their team popular and give the league more credibility.
“David had a different impact for us.
“It happened very quickly. The league was young when David came here, it was just over 10 years old, he was a well-known guy so it worked out well.”
To even discuss owning a franchise, the MLS want to know potential owners can lay their hands on $125million. When Beckham moved to the Galaxy, the figure was $25m.
Garber added: “David Beckham had certain rights when he came into the league. It was a really smart deal on his part. We’d never do that again! David gave up income to have rights issue, the guy had guts and power to him.
“He wants to have a very successful global team in one of the great cities in the world. It’s very simple. He wants it to be competitive and be a global brand.
“The only way you can do that is to be good on and off the pitch.”