Then they get absolutely destroyed, because you can’t half ass it in this league and get away with it. and if they do that, it will be fun to watch as well, like Steven Gerrard getting smoked week in and week out for not giving a ********.
At least for awhile Messi and Ronaldo would get more people out to games. Fans will be able to watch them in person in a league game, that has stakes. Most of the times that they have played in the US it's been in meaningless club friendlies. Messi did play in Copa America here, so that's a bigger deal.
Is MLS not developing players and playing homegrowns? Where do you think Davies, Adams, Aaronson and many more were developed at? A player like Messi actually helps those homegrown players you want MLS to develop. Playing along side a player of his skill and knowledge will only help a teenager. Playing with or against the caliber of foreign players like Kevin Cabral, Jan Gregus (which no one complains when they come to MLS) or some college draft players doesn't help the homegrowns as much as you think it does. Playing against or with Messi they'll learn more.
But the question inquiring minds want to know is if Messi resigns with PSG, does that make Ligue 1 a crappy retirement League/Ligue/Liga?
Ronaldo going to sign in the Arab league for $200M a year contract! So no more Ronaldo to MLS rumors and at that salary I won't doubt Messi gets tempted to join their league too. That is a ridiculous salary, more than the estimated $100M a year Mbappe is getting paid at PSG. Technically MLS can pay (they won't) those type of salaries with their DP rules but they'll bankrupt a team. The most I see an MLS team paying a player like Messi or Ronaldo is around $20M a year and I still think that's way too much.
Of course not. Perception influences reality. Since Ligue 1 is "good" that means the player is still in it to be competitive and is at the top of his game. Since MLS is "bad" that means he is coming to retire. See Zlatan and his move to MLS vs his move back to Milan. It has been like that for years. Jozy doing well in the Eredivisie meant he was really good. Then he failed in England and came back to MLS. When he put up the same performances in MLS as he did in the Eredivisie it was because MLS was bad. When players go from Eredivisie and fail in another league like England (Steven Berghuis, for example) and do well when they go back to the Eredivisie there are no questions about the quality of that league. Ajax and PSV are good so the league is good which means all players are good. MLS is bad so all the players are bad.
You should take the reported $200 mil per year with a large grain of salt. It's hard to see how he is worth that to any club, even with the publicity and merch sales and broadcast rights he might help.
The Galaxy are on transfer ban for the summer window this season due to being caught paying Pavon as a DP but only listing him as a TAM player.
Any club, sure. Any geopolitically ambitious nation, different question. $700 million is nothing to the Saudi state, and the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in their domestic league is valuable to them in a variety of ways.
Canadian gem Ismael Kone is set to join Watford, here we go — it will be record transfer fee for Montreal 🚨🟡⚫️🇨🇦 #transfersPozzo’s project includes Watford and Udinese for near future — it’s the most attractive one for Kone despite offers from Italian, German, Dutch clubs. pic.twitter.com/6yIAPjFG7J— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 4, 2022
#CFMTL this offseason:✅Mihailovic sold for €6m to AZ Alkmaar✅Johnston sold for €3.5m + add-ons to #CelticFC 🔜Ismaël Koné to Watford for €8-10m Montréal are set to earn between €17.5m and €19.5m while having spent just about €2.2m on those three players. Remarkable! pic.twitter.com/fECMD4gaA8— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) December 4, 2022
How much of that transfer sale revenue will Montreal be able to convert to GAm to use on their roster? Kone should be a stack since he's a Home Grown. Allistair, might not be as much since I don't believe he's a home grown, and did Nashville have a sell on clause in their deal? Djorde is still considered a home grown correct? Or did that change when he moved from Chicago? Still great outgoing business. Now they have to actually use those proceeds to effectively rebuild their roster.
Chicago had a 10% sell-on so 600k to them. Nashville also had a 10% sell-on so likely another 350k+ to them. The reporting on that is weird because Bogert said it was 10% starting at a million. Assuming that means it kicked in all the way when they sold him for over a million and it isn't 10% of the fee minus 1 million (so 10% of 2.5 million). In any case they are able to convert all of those sales into the max GAM since even though Djordje and Johnston aren't considered homegrown (though Djordje may be one. MLS' website has him as one but they also had Cory Burke listed as a supplemental player when he was making almost 500k), the 95% of the fee they get is over max GAM amount (around 1.1 million). There are already rumors that they are using some of that for Jhegson Mendez and will acquire his MLS rights from LAFC. Assuming they are paying him in the million dollar range as he is out of contract and he likely has some Euro options. Also, another rumor is floating around that teams from abroad are interested in Joel Waterman. So, this might be a full rebuild and play youth year incoming for them.
First official big acquisition of the winter window. The Portland Timbers have completed the club-record signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Evander from FC Midtjylland. Sources say deal is around $10m.Evander, 24, currently leading Europa League in assists this season. Will play as a No. 10. Big talent. pic.twitter.com/Cq3Jqtdvjv— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) December 5, 2022
It's a circular argument I've even seen people make within a handful of posts: MLS is terrible because it only signs players who are retiring... and anyone who moves to MLS must be retiring (even if they're under 30) because they're going to MLS. At the end of the 2022 season, MLS had all of five players who entered the league at ages older than 32. That's fewer than one per five teams in the league. At the beginning of 2022, it was just one player in the whole league. And that number has never exceeded one per two MLS teams at any point in the 21st century -- the only reason it was higher in the 90s was that every player in the league was new in 1996, and a bunch of those older players were Americans, not aging foreign stars.
You obviously don't follow the Premier League transfer market at all. Writers, fans, and clubs are notoriously skeptical of the Eredivisie, especially high-scoring attackers, flowing from the perception of there being poor defending in that league. It's almost exactly like the reputation of MLS, albeit of somewhat higher quality level, which is inarguably true (for now).
I'm more talking about a US-centric view of things. Most fans still seem to have the whole "it is Europe so it is better attitude". There are large swaths of fans who still pine for reserve players on big Dutch and Portuguese teams to get call-ups because they are on big teams (but still playing in the second division). People were fawning over Keaton Parks highlights when he was doing anything for Benfica's B team in the second division. But he came to MLS and they all but ignored him because he was "dropping down a level" to play in MLS. The same sort of circle that has been screaming that Ledezma should get a call-up because he has like 100 minutes for PSV. Anyway, Kone to Watford is official. FC Dallas has signed Ibeagha from LAFC as a free agent. They also bough Jose Mulato from Deportivo Cali. He was on loan with North Texas last year after Bayern recommended him from their World XI team. And Charlotte have apparently reached a verbal agreement with Racing Club (Argentina) for the transfer of Enzo Copetti.
Revolution sign Bobby Wood after selecting veteran forward in Stage 2 of 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft By revolutionsoccer.net Monday, Dec 5, 2022, 11:00 AM
Philadelphia Union have acquired midfielder Andres Perea from @OrlandoCitySC.Welcome to Philly, @andresperea06!📝 https://t.co/Pvkd5aKycZ#DOOP pic.twitter.com/YIUs6H3Ep2— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) December 6, 2022 Judging that he is more of a CM/DM player that someone like Jesus Bueno is on the way out. He was supposed to be Martinez's heir apparent but even when Martinez was unavailable he didn't see the field. Flach would slide back there or Elliott would move up there instead.