They didn’t win but Seattle didn’t do badly considering they were up against Atletico Madrid. And somehow PSG lost to the Botafogo team they outplayed.
Good numbers again from Roldan(CM in 4231), this time in the 3-1 loss to Atletico. 53/63 passing 4/7 long balls 6/12 duels 3/2 fouls/fouled 6.8(3rd)Sofascore
Roldan looked really good. Forgot how fast he was, he ran down their wingers in space a couple times.
He was born a little too early to get the kind of Euro moves guys like Sands and Tolkin get and too late for the moves guys used to make when Scandinavia paid better. He’s been a great Sounder and I’m sure he could have been a regular at some yo-yo club in the big leagues. Seattle was smart to lock him up for his prime. His second contract was reported to be fully guaranteed, which is apparently rare in MLS.
The Brasilian clubs have racked up some impressive wins in the CWC. Botafogo's 2025 payroll is listed at $27 million, Flamengo's at $51 million. Similar payrolls are achievable by the wealthiest MLS clubs.
The Messi signing and the buildup to the 2026 World Cup are definitely coming across as a bit of a missed opportunity for MLS. The league should be getting at least 1 team into the 2029 edition (if it's the same rules) through either winning CONCACAF Champions Cup or regional rankings if a Liga MX team wins it twice, but it's tough to see MLS getting more without deciding to compete.
MLS would need to increase the basic cap to avoid all the money going to the DPs in the instance of an individual team wanting to compete with the Western Hemisphere's best. I agree that the league has possibly missed a great opportunity. The Messi-effect has seen the average MLS team valuation increase to $720 million. Inter Miami is now worth more than Inter Milan. But the league spends 26% of its revenue on player salaries while the top leagues spend 50%-75% of revenue on player salaries. Some MLS owners have pleaded for an increase in the cap but obviously not enough of them.
That and their average domestic player is just better but an up and coming Brazilian player won’t necessarily be making a salary that reflects the difference in quality.
MLS just moves slowly on these things and is very consensus based. I think it’s unlikely we’ll see dramatic change but I do think there will continue to be gradual increases.
Just checked Flamengo's starting XI. There was only one player, the 21 y/o rightback, under 24 years of age. These weren't future superstars who had defeated Chelsea. And only 6 of the starters were Brasilian.
Well the good thing is some of the owners who are most resistant to drastic changes are looking to sell
That's great. And why not: given the runup in team valuations, these cheaper owners stand to make a tidy profit by selling now.
MLS is a tank. It moves forward slowly but never stops moving forward. I think it's a fine balance as it gives our good young players minutes and that wouldn't happen if all of a sudden there were PL spending. It will take longer to get near the top this way but there is also no way there will be a NASL repeat. Slow and steady is the way.
This is about more than Brasilians being 'good at soccer' or whatever. In the early 20s, Brasilian football adopted a new financial model that allowed the teams structure themselves as LLCs to encourage greater investment in the game. Revenue has been rapidly increasing over the past few years as have club payrolls. In this CWC, Brasilian teams are 2W0L2D against European clubs for a marked improvement over the previous decades of the event in its more limited form. And in continental competition, only once have a non-Brasilian team, Boca Juniors, made the finals of the past 5 editions of the Copa Libertadores. In the 5 editions prior to 2019, non-Brasilian teams had made the finals 8 times.
For sure. And 80% of their league is brazilians. But i hear you and its a good point! Its never one simple factor.
The league was 90% Brasilian when it was getting owned in Copa Libertadores and making little headway in the CWC. Greater investment means keeping more of your talented players plus being able to bring in talented foreigners. Cristian Roldan won MOTM against Botafogo. He's on $1.5 million. An MLS team that invested more could load up on more of those types, not even the Pulisic-levels of American players.