I know I’m comparing 30 teams to 20, but I wonder how far the 15th highest payroll in MLS is from #15 in France, Italy, and Spain. Except for Germany and England, I’m very, very confident MLS beats every other European league by the same metric.
The spending in MLS is skewed due to its roster building mechanism. But to answer your question, in those top leagues the bottom dwelling teams don't spend much. It's why they remain at the bottom always unless they have a very good season (then sell all their best players) or get a huge investment from some rich guru. In MLS the spending keeps on going up every year regardless of the way they are allowed to spend. MLS hasn't even reached its peak as compared to other leagues which are maxed out already. On another note, don't look now but Obed Vargas is doing pretty good in a top league and club in the world. MLS developed. And just like Alphonso Davies in his time, he is fitting in right away even though he just got there. All those that say "MLS doesn't develop players for top leagues" don't know what the hell they are talking about, as usual. Alex Freeman is another one!
their inbility to contribute played a major role in the exit, actually greggggs dumb idea to play the same 11 every game.....in a grind it out, cede possession style.....requiring max effort in group games to beat inferiror opponents narrowly left the starters exhausted for the game vs the dutch (UNNECESSARILY SO) it was gregggs idea that the last 9 roster spots didnt matter and could be tokens for mls.....bit the team hard. greggg was only playing for a 2nd cycle.....and to max that chance he played safe and killed the teams ceiling...... he didnt try to find the best 26 - he tried to find an 11 that could get him his second contract nd rode them into the ground.... that doesnt mean the mlsers on his wc roster didnt suck.they clearly did.
It was the World Cup, you play your best team, period. Oh, and SHOCKER, the players are going to have to empty the tank each game in order to get results. Do you know why???? Because every other team is emptying the tank each game. The USA doesn't have "gimme" games at the World Cup. Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia. Some people act as if the other teams aren't trying, or giving maximum effort.
This is a bit exaggerated representation of the facts. We were better, but not smacking you. We kept control over the match and "forced/lured" you twice in the same position to score a bit identical goals.
It’s funny to me; my immediate reaction after the match was that we got spanked. And while we should be 2nd best to Holland, it should have been a more equal match. But if you go by XG, we were pretty competitive.
Not saying we would have won but we had opportunities at the beginning that could have changed the game. We were on the front foot. Of course it is the ol "woulda coulda shoulda".... They took their chances, we didn't and it went downhill from there.
I do some of the better teams in the group stage 1) were able to clinch before the last group game and rested guys, 2) have better depth so less of a need to empty the tank, and 3) had games where they had comfortable leads where guys didn’t have to go 90 and could take the foot off the gas a bit. I think that changes in the knockout rounds but they get their fresher. Key is having more depth, putting teams away (in a way we failed to do against Wales), and taking care of business in games 1 and 2.
I mean it's worth mentioning that 2 of the goals given up vs the Netherlands were things we were scared at the time with Jedi and Dest. Great going forward but especially in 2022, both had habits of falling asleep defensively. The third goal you don't expect Tyler to give up like that... gassed or not. I don't think you get nearly the same issues from Jedi or Dest in 2026 that you got in 2022.
I think this is a bit pessimistic. Argentinian soccer is really not doing well. They can’t compete with Brazil these days. If transfermarkt means anything, Liga MX is similar, except it doesn’t have an extra dozen mediocre teams. MLS is more in competition, long-term, with Brazil. Flamengo has grown enormously in revenues recently. As for MLS not having a superstar, that makes sense if you mean an in-prime superstar. But then again, who does? I can probably list the teams on my finger where a real superstar would consider playing. City, United, Arsenal, Liverpool, PSG, Barca, Madrid, Bayern. Maybe Chelsea or Atleti? Those teams are as big as the biggest NFL and NBA franchises. MLS might not get there, ever. But it isn’t totally inconceivable to have a league of Valencia’s or Lille’s with enough growth.
Saying MLS doesn't have a superstar is like saying the Croatian or Uruguay leagues don't have a "superstar." Of course they don't. Players of that caliber leave those leagues. Argentine soccer is in a total crisis. Both the league and the federation. Its very hard to compare leagues with teams that never play each other. You can see that in the Opta League Power rankings. The top 5 or 6 remain pretty stagnant. But lower than that, and the variation in survey to survey is extreme. Bodo/Glimt had a fantastic Champions League, and now that league is above MLS in the Opta Rankings. But is it really? The whole league to league discussion is kind of senseless in that regard. If we had a Leagues Cup style competition between Norway and MLS, then I'd be able to say something with more confidence. MLS is focusing on what MLS needs to focus on. And every team in the league has a different vision on how they want to win games. Some are trying to do it thru homegrown academy and player development. Others aren't. And all of that is the same as in Europe. Every team is going to have a different business model. You do have to spend money in MLS, though. Which clubs have the five lowest salaries totals in MLS this season? The answer is Philly, SKC, Montreal, Orlando, and Colorado. If the playoffs started today, none of those clubs would be in them.
By the end of the summer, if the transfer season goes like it has been shaping up, MLS will have more superstars than Europe.
MLS have been tipped to add Griezmann, Salah, Lewandowski, Casemiro, and Neymar. Harry Kane probably will come in the next year or two. Mbappe seems like a candidate for Saudi. The European leagues are being drained of star power. They are still the best leagues, but things are changing.
I saw today on Twitter that Sauid is offering $90M a year to Lewandowski to play there. If true, hard to turn down. But don't know how true it is. Neymar shouldn't come to MLS. Too injury prone and won't play just like he did in Saudi.
Kane has already said he's not coming to MLS, doesn't want to live in the US. Probably headed to Saudi
I suspect MLS will get one or two of those. Well, they have already added Griezmann. That's official. He seems to have something left in the tank. Two things: 1) Father time is undefeated. 2) Suadi will pay more for "names" whether they've got anything left in the tank or not. MLS isn't paying all of these guys what they're paying Messi. Messi gets paid more than all TEAMS in MLS other than LAFC. Messi gets paid 28.3 million a year. My team, FC Dallas, has an entire payroll of 15 million. What we did learn this week is that Josh Sargent is getting paid ~$5.2 million by Toronto. Miles Robinson is now getting paid ~$4 million by Cincinnati. That's big boy money being paid to USMNTers to be in the league.
TheAthletic had an article about Raheem Sterling’s career lately. He would be a perfect fit in DC right now. DC won’t do it though. Maybe some other club will offer him 1 year guaranteed with super-creative options for each side so that the deal is sensible for BOTH sides. Have they signed any big names since they dropped out of LIV golf? The interest from Saudi clubs isn’t due to finances or sporting reasons. It’s pure sportswashing. Its political. I can’t avoid the politics of the Iran War here; Saudi politics have changed.
The Saudi Pro League has announced the next phase of its Player Acquisition Centre of Excellence (PACE) programme. A new four-year model has been introduced “designed to help clubs attract elite talent while encouraging responsible sporting and commercial decision-making”. 22% of funding is evenly distributed. The rest is now performance related based on football, TV viewership and commercial metrics. Under the new structure: • 22% of the budget will be distributed equally among clubs • 22% will be allocated according to average league position across the previous three seasons • 28% will be linked to television viewership • 28% will be tied to commercial performance during the same period Around $2bn in central funds are allocated per season for transfers, wages and agent commissions, although the Ministry of Sport and clubs have never confirmed precise numbers. ️ Omar Mugharbel, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Pro League: “The question is no longer whether players will join the SPL, but rather who is next. “Our focus now is on strengthening and evolving the sustainable ecosystem already in place, one that supports long-term sporting and commercial success across the league.” The new four-year plan shows a long-term commitment to funding the Saudi Pro League despite uncertainty over Saudi’s commitment to other sports. PACE’s listed goals include: •Increasing the Saudi Pro League’s commercial value •Strengthening league competitiveness •Attracting investment •Supporting the development of young Saudi players •Helping build the next generation of Saudi talent alongside elite international role models 🚨 The Saudi Pro League has announced the next phase of its Player Acquisition Centre of Excellence (PACE) programme.A new four-year model has been introduced “designed to help clubs attract elite talent while encouraging responsible sporting and commercial decision-making”.… pic.twitter.com/CX56RchzKW— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 11, 2026 If true, these MF aren't playing around.
This gem for those Badge FC fans. Congratulations! 🚨🇺🇸 Johnny Cardoso had a chance to play at the World Cup, but he chose to undergo surgery to avoid long-term problems.He sacrificed his childhood dream of playing in the World Cup to fully recover and prioritize Atlético Madrid, where he hopes to become a club legend.@marca pic.twitter.com/rveXU2mhZs— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) May 14, 2026 Johnny Cardoso had a chance to play at the World Cup, but he chose to undergo surgery to avoid long-term problems. He sacrificed his childhood dream of playing in the World Cup to fully recover and prioritize Atlético Madrid, where he hopes to become a club legend.