[MLS] Speaking for the first time since talks between Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union broke off, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said he's hopeful the start of MLS's 15th season is not affected by the labor impasse but added the league wouldn't make any move just to avoid a work stoppage.

Garber says he does not expect negotiations to go down to the wire. The season opens on March 25 when Seattle hosts Philadelphia.

"I would describe these as big-league problems," he told AP. "Years ago, we had nothing to fight about, so we didn't have labor issues. Now that the league is growing and there is a bit more at stake, the players want to see improvement in their salaries and their working conditions. And we need to understand, we need to listen and take their issues into consideration."

Garber was speaking Tuesday at Soccerex in Manchester, England, where he dismissed talk that David Beckham would not return to the Los Angeles Galaxy for a fourth season.

"David will be back after the World Cup, no doubt about that," he said. "He has been a success. There are always going to be people, particularly in England, that look at everything and don't see the positives."