VANCOUVER - At the moment, MLS commissioner Don Garber’s words are little more than a pipe dream, an unfathomable goal that leaves the league’s most hardcore supporters shaking their heads.

Ahead of Saturday’s MLS opener between Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps, Garber reiterated Major League Soccer’s intention to be a top league by 2023.

The problem, as L.A. Galaxy Designated Player Robbie Keane put it last week, the league’s salary cap will undoubtedly hold the league back in its present form.

“In England, you’ve got 20 designated players (per team),” Keane told Sporting News. “If we move on and keep talking about extending (the Designated Player rule), I think we’ll 100% help the league.

“In 10 year’s time, this league would be massive if you extend it to five players. If you don’t extend it to five players, it’s going to be the same.”