This has been my "Halftime of Copa / Euros" project, and thought I'd share some progress. I looked at all of the transfers to and from MLS and European teams over the past few seasons. This enables us to gather the ELO score at the time of the transfer (I used the always-excellent clubelo.com site for all data.) I've included all transfers and loans from June 2014 through today. Any movement entering or exiting the league provided a data point. I found a pretty comprehensive list on Wikipedia here and here. I also added the DeAndre Yedlin and Jermaine Jones transactions, as they occurred in the same timeframe. When a player was technically out of contract (the Euro/MLS transfer windows don't align), I used my best judgment for most recent club. There are limitations with this approach. All transactions to and from clubs from outside of Europe are not included, and even smaller Euro clubs won't appear. This is also just the initial transaction; if there's something here, I plan on following up with minutes played (a metric I really like) for Year 1/Year 2 of these transfers. With those caveats, here's what I've seen thus far: Over this time span, there were 93 players entering the league and 21 players leaving for Europe. The average ELO of a Euro player's last club was 1566 (median was 1557.) Today, this is the equivalent of the 135th-140th best clubs in Europe. Some well-known clubs in this range are Brighton, Valladolid, Bologna, and AZ The average ELO of a player leaving MLS is 1465, but the median is 1393. Basically, some better clubs are taking chances on younger players, skewing the number higher. This includes transfers like Yedlin's, Miazga to Chelsea, and Erik Palmer-Brown to Porto. Here is all the data: Date Player Transfer From Transfer To ELO From ELO To 6/2/2014 David Villa Atlético Madrid New York City FC Free[1] 1979 7/1/2014 Kaká Milan Orlando City Free[4] 1721 7/7/2014 Jeb Brovsky New York City FC Strømsgodset Loan[5] 1393 7/24/2014 Frank Lampard Chelsea New York City FC Free[7] 1896 7/29/2014 Andrew Jacobson New York City FC Stabæk Loan[8] 1331 8/3/2014 Frank Lampard New York City FC Manchester City Loan[10] 1956 8/13/2014 DeAndre Yedlin Seattle Sounders Tottenham Transfer 1803 8/24/2014 Jermaine Jones Besiktas New England Revolution Free 1618 10/7/2014 Kei Kamara Middlesbrough Columbus Crew Free[12] 1525 10/29/2014 Mohammed Saeid Örebro SK Columbus Crew Free[13] 1363 12/1/2014 Marco Donadel Verona Montreal Impact Free[15] 1580 12/2/2014 Kennedy Igboananike AIK Chicago Fire Undisclosed[16] 1451 12/8/2014 Adam Larsen Kwarasey Strømsgodset IF Portland Timbers Undisclosed[19] 1390 12/9/2014 Michael Stephens Stabæk Chicago Fire Free[27] 1235 12/11/2014 Kristinn Steindórsson Halmstads BK Columbus Crew Undisclosed[37] 1330 12/18/2014 Krisztián Németh Roda Sporting Kansas City Free[45] 1350 12/19/2014 David Accam Helsingborg Chicago Fire Undisclosed[46] 1392 12/19/2014 Brek Shea Stoke City Orlando City Undisclosed[47] 1679 12/29/2014 Tyrone Mears Bolton Seattle Sounders FC Free[51] 1520 1/6/2015 Guly do Prado Southampton Chicago Fire Free[55] 1769 1/6/2015 Cole Grossman Real Salt Lake Stabæk Undisclosed[57] 1235 1/6/2015 Roger Espinoza Wigan Athletic Sporting Kansas City Free[56] 1486 1/7/2015 Steven Gerrard Liverpool LA Galaxy Free[60] 1799 1/9/2015 Raúl Rodríguez Espanyol Houston Dynamo Free[62] 1693 1/12/2015 Markus Halsti Malmö FF D.C. United Undisclosed[63] 1552 1/13/2015 Mix Diskerud Rosenborg New York City FC Free[64] 1455 1/16/2015 Jozy Altidore Sunderland Toronto FC Allocation[70] 1641 1/16/2015 Jermain Defoe Toronto FC Sunderland Undisclosed[70] 1641 1/19/2015 Sebastian Giovinco Juventus Toronto FC Undisclosed[75] 1899 1/22/2015 Laurent Ciman Standard Liège Montreal Impact Undisclosed[79] 1530 1/23/2015 Demar Phillips Aalesund Real Salt Lake Free[81] 1346 1/25/2015 Shaun Maloney Wigan Athletic Chicago Fire Undisclosed[83] 1443 1/26/2015 Martin Paterson Huddersfield Town Orlando City Loan[85] 1452 1/26/2015 Damien Perquis Betis Toronto FC Undisclosed[86] 1674 1/27/2015 Ronald Zubar Ajaccio New York Red Bulls Undisclosed[90] 1433 1/28/2015 Sacha Kljestan Anderlecht New York Red Bulls Allocation[92] 1605 1/29/2015 Benoît Cheyrou Marseille Toronto FC Free[93] 1654 1/30/2015 Juan Agudelo Utrecht New England Revolution Free[94] 1446 1/30/2015 Cedrick Mabwati Betis Columbus Crew Undisclosed[95] 1674 1/31/2015 Innocent Emeghara Qarabağ San Jose Earthquakes Undisclosed[96] 1386 2/2/2015 Adam Nemec Union Berlin New York City FC Free[99] 1468 2/9/2015 Steven Vitória Benfica Philadelphia Union Loan[102] 1835 2/13/2015 Soni Mustivar Petrolul Ploiești Sporting Kansas City Free[105] 1557 2/24/2015 Seb Hines Middlesbrough Orlando City Loan[111] 1584 2/24/2015 A.J. Soares New England Revolution Viking Free[112] 1304 3/2/2015 Marcel de Jong Augsburg Sporting Kansas City Free[118] 1721 3/7/2015 Dane Richards Bodø/Glimt New York Red Bulls Free[121] 1196 3/17/2015 Deshorn Brown Colorado Rapids Vålerenga Undisclosed[122] 1310 3/17/2015 Danny Cruz Philadelphia Union Bodø/Glimt Loan[123] 1196 3/27/2015 Víctor Pérez Real Valladolid Chicago Fire Loan[125] 1667 3/31/2015 Eirik Johansen Manchester City New York City Undisclosed[127] 1889 5/9/2015 Kevin Doyle Wolverhampton Wanderers Colorado Rapids Free[132] 1516 6/16/2015 Andoni Iraola Athletic Bilbao New York City Free[137] 1807 6/29/2015 Erik Friberg Esbjerg Seattle Sounders Undisclosed[139] 1406 7/1/2015 Adrián López Rodríguez Montreal Impact AGF Free[140] 1286 7/6/2015 Andrea Pirlo Juventus New York City Free[141] 1935 7/8/2015 Angeliño Manchester City New York City Loan[137] 1892 7/15/2015 Giovani Dos Santos Villarreal LA Galaxy $7M[145] 1780 7/24/2015 Ahmed Kantari Lens Toronto FC Free[150] 1459 7/27/2015 Didier Drogba Chelsea Montreal Impact Free[152] 1898 7/27/2015 Shaun Wright-Phillips QPR New York Red Bulls Free[153] 1557 7/29/2015 David Mateos Ferencvárosi Orlando City Undisclosed[155] 1377 7/29/2015 Adrian Winter Luzern Orlando City Undisclosed[155] 1548 7/29/2015 Tranquillo Barnetta Schalke Philadelphia Union Free[154] 1721 8/4/2015 Andreas Ivanschitz Levante Seattle Sounders Free[162] 1685 8/6/2015 Jordi Quintillà Ajaccio Sporting Kansas City Free[170] 1420 8/6/2015 Gastón Sauro Basel Columbus Crew Undisclosed[168] 1706 8/7/2015 Shane O'Neill Colorado Rapids Apollon Limassol Undisclosed[175] 1446 8/7/2015 Maynor Figueroa Hull Colorado Rapids Free[172] 1569 8/7/2015 Sean St Ledger Ipswich Colorado Rapids Free[177] 1581 8/7/2015 Nelson Haedo Valdez Frankfurt Seattle Sounders Free[178] 1660 8/7/2015 Erik Hurtado Vancouver Whitecaps Mjøndalen Loan[174] 1189 8/27/2015 Shaun Maloney Chicago Fire Hull City Undisclosed[183] 1567 9/1/2015 Adam Nemec New York City Willem II Free[184] 1372 12/16/2015 Kristinn Steindórsson Columbus Crew GIF Sundsvall Free[20] 1317 12/30/2015 Liam Ridgewell Portland Timbers Brighton & Hove Albion Loan[42] 1496 1/5/2016 Emanuel Pogatetz Columbus Crew Union Berlin Free[44] 1483 1/6/2016 Simon Dawkins Derby County San Jose Earthquakes Free[45] 1580 1/13/2016 Dániel Sallói Újpest FC Sporting Kansas City Homegrown player[58] 1275 1/14/2016 Emmanuel Boateng Helsingborgs IF LA Galaxy Free[64] 1365 1/15/2016 Yura Movsisyan Spartak Moscow Real Salt Lake Loan[70] 1621 1/18/2016 Lucas Ontivero Galatasaray Montreal Impact Loan[73] 1625 1/22/2016 Emil Larsen OB Columbus Crew Free[85] 1368 1/23/2016 Carlos Grueso VfB Stuttgart FC Dallas Undisclosed[87] 1607 1/23/2016 João Meira Belenenses Chicago Fire Free[89] 1463 1/25/2016 Alexandros Tabakis Panathinaikos Atlanta United FC Free[91] 1551 1/26/2016 Jelle Van Damme Standard Liège LA Galaxy Free[94] 1504 1/26/2016 Juan Ramirez Colorado Rapids UD Almería Loan[97] 1538 1/27/2016 Ashley Cole Roma LA Galaxy Free[99] 1752 1/27/2016 Agus Albacete Houston Dynamo Free[98] 1492 1/27/2016 David Rocha Gimnàstic Houston Dynamo Free[98] 1561 1/28/2016 Frédéric Brillant KV Oostende New York City FC Undisclosed[102] 1454 1/30/2016 Matt Miazga New York Red Bulls Chelsea Undisclosed[105] 1814 2/1/2016 Erik Palmer-Brown Sporting Kansas City FC Porto Loan[107] 1777 2/1/2016 Shkëlzen Gashi FC Basel Colorado Rapids Undisclosed[109] 1702 2/2/2016 Johan Kappelhof FC Groningen Chicago Fire Undisclosed[112] 1448 2/2/2016 George Fochive Portland Timbers Viborg FF Undisclosed[111] 1314 2/3/2016 Nigel de Jong Milan LA Galaxy Free[115] 1722 2/3/2016 Amro Tarek Real Betis Columbus Crew Loan[116] 1666 2/4/2016 Ola Kamara Austria Wien Columbus Crew Undisclosed[118] 1506 2/4/2016 Roland Alberg ADO Den Haag Philadelphia Union Undisclosed[119] 1425 2/9/2016 Gideon Baah HJK Helsinki New York Red Bulls Undisclosed[121] 1262 2/9/2016 Matt Jones Belenenses Philadelphia Union Loan[123] 1467 2/18/2016 Antonio Nocerino AC Milan D.C. United Free[5] 1730 2/20/2016 Ilsinho FC Shakhtar Donetsk Philadelphia Union Free[5] 1777 2/29/2016 John Goossens FC Voluntari Chicago Fire Free[5] 1319 3/3/2016 Charlie Horton Leeds United New England Revolution Free[5] 1438 3/3/2016 Arturo Alvarez Videoton FC Chicago Fire Free[5] 1321 3/8/2016 Diego Rubio Real Valladolid Sporting Kansas City Loan[136] 1605 3/9/2016 Jack Barmby Leicester City Portland Timbers Loan[137] 1781 3/20/2016 Tim Howard Everton Colorado Rapids Free[138] 1715 5/4/2016 Khaly Thiam MTK Chicago Fire Loan[141] 1238 5/10/2016 Alhaji Kamara Norrköping D.C. United Undisclosed[142] 1506 5/17/2016 Michael de Leeuw Groningen Chicago Fire Trade[143] 1428
Just realized that Perry Kitchen was not included in this as well (yes, these are thoughts that pop into my head...) Hearts was at 1304 ELO on March 1 of this year. Compared to past national teams, it seems like there are fewer players who have experience in both MLS and a Euro club. On the Copa roster, it was: Guzan Yedlin Dempsey Bradley Howard Jones Kitchen Cameron Orozco did the MLS-Liga MX move with his loan year to Philly.
Apollon Limassol complicates things, because it seems to be acting as a middleman or third-party owner with many players. Shane O'Neill, for example, has spent the entire 2015-16 season out on loan, first to a Belgian club and then to a lower-tier English club. Similarly, Doneil Henry was sold to Apollon Limassol on July 1, 2014, and loaned back to Toronto FC for the rest of the calendar year; Apollon then sold him to West Ham as soon as the European transfer window opened, without Henry ever spending a day in Cyprus.
Yeah, there are specific transactions that are little more than sleight of hand (the Lampard "loan" comes to mind.) There are also feeder club relationships, like Chelsea and Vitesse in Holland, that could skew things. However, over time, this should help us calibrate where players should view their next step if they leave the league. I think the next step in the analysis - tracking playing time just before and just after the transaction - will be helpful. Might need a few more years of data, though, as there aren't as many players transferring from MLS to European clubs as I expected. Regarding, O'Neill, it looks like he is still with Apollon Limassol and the Cambridge loan concluded. @bshredder , have you heard anything differently?
you can add octavio rivero, the striker from vancouver whitecaps- has been sold to colo-colo of chile- a work horse, but very few goals for his chances and his salary of $900 000 US- this year, he has 2 goals in 17 games, simply not good enough for a DP striker- who the caps bring in in july will probably be from SA, CA - less money, but with the same results and they do have hurtado, perez and the injured kudo who is turning into another bust- the owners worth a collective in the billions, just dont want to invest in a dynamic player like TFC and montreal have done- the caps are a middling team, with a middling budget and a middling vision to make the whitecaps the talk of the metro city, a great soccer market BTW
A quick update for Fabian Castillo (and a great overview from Strauss at SI): Trabzonspor is at 1417 ELO. This is well below the better-known Turkish clubs like Fenerbahce (1653), Besiktas (1650), and Galatasaray (1553). I'm surprised Castillo didn't go to a slightly better club, but with the funky 2-part transfer, who knows what's going on behind the scenes.