SA: 7 MLS players have $1 million+ transfer value Frank Dell'Appa's column today contains an interesting tidbit of info with potential offseason implications: "SoccerAmerica magazine's Nov. 10 edition lists seven MLS players with a transfer value of $1 million or more, three (Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Damani Ralph) members of the Fire, all listed at $2 million. The others are San Jose's Landon Donovan ($2.5 million), D.C. United's Bobby Convey ($1.2 million), and Los Angeles's Carlos Ruiz and the MetroStars' Ricardo Clark (both $1 million)." http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2003/11/15/kraft_believes_future_is_bright/ Dell'Appa doesn't mention how SA arrived at these numbers, but they look pretty accurate to me. I'm a bit surprised, though, that Taylor Twellman didn't make the list. Is his contract up soon, or is it his fate to always be underestimated by the soccer establishment?
Adin Brown's in the Top 10 and is listed at $700,000. Mathis is out-of-contract with MLS and would be available on a free transfer. Clint is reportedly is heading to England next month to open talks with several interested Premiership clubs. http://www.ussocceruk.com/news/?CatTypeId=2&ContentId=1071
For $2.5 million, Donovan would be the best bargain in the world. Ruiz also is a great deal at $1 mil.
Convey was one vote away from being sold for well over a million dollars. Ricardo Clark is, without a doubt, one of the most talented young midfielders in the US. If either of these players are ever sold by MLS, it will, without a doubt, be for more than a million dollars. edit: Ridge Mahoney and Soccer America "valuing" players like this is a complete joke.
Nah, I think estimating players' values is fun. No matter what you say, everybody thinks you're wrong, and that always gets your column noticed more than when everybody agrees with you because what you said is obvious. The notion of value is entirely dependent on what the seller is willing to accept and what the buyer is willing to pay. So until a deal actually occurs, no estimate of value is "correct." In the case of MLS players, sometimes the player in question is worth a lot more to MLS than he is to a foreign team, so they never agree on a price. I read the original article in SA. I don't remember them ever saying that the players they featured were necessarily the top ten; they just featured ten players who would be on the high end of the scale.
Yeah, but it's also possible to go to hell with a joke like that. Anyone see Rolling Stone's recent list of the top 100 guitar players of all time? They put Van Halen at something like #77 - about 60 places below the guy from the White Stripes! If you want to create controversy, that's easy to do, but at least keep your lists realistic or you will lose credibility (not saying the SA list is unrealistic).
Re: SA: 7 MLS players have $1 million+ transfer value Doesn't this seem a little low for players like Boca and Donovan? Maybe they're just trying to grease the skids so the price will go up for future transfers. The market's low, but I'd say that if someone put in a bid on Tim Howard, it would be much higher than what ManU paid for him a few months ago.
Re: Re: SA: 7 MLS players have $1 million+ transfer value Maybe because the starting keeper from Man U who has champions league experience will tend to fetch more than the starting keeper for the Metros who saves a PK in a commercial (yes from a real game)? The new Howard is a slightly more experienced but MUCH more tested version of the old one. More tested means more value when potentials are equal 8)
Re: Re: Re: SA: 7 MLS players have $1 million+ transfer value The old Howard was tested plenty, more than he has been at Man U, but clubs and Euro fans didnt put much valuation on that.
Convey is young, talented with a ton of potential. European clubs are looking for that raw untapped talent from some unknown entity that will prove to be a gold mine and they see Convey as having that potential. I can't say I dissagree.
Re: SA: 7 MLS players have $1 million+ transfer value I know Twellman rips it up in MLS, but I just don't get the vibe off of him that he'd do anything anywhere else. That's not saying MLS is a bad league, I love it and think there's some great soccer played, but I've never gotten what the big deal is about Twellman. I'd love him to prove me wrong and score tons of goals internationally, but I just don't get the vibe.
Joke is on Tottenham Hotspur then, as they agreed on a transfer fee of $1.2 million before the work permit got turned down. Newcastle reportedly have some interest...though they also have Kieron Dyer.
I think the fact that Edson Buddle isn't on the list is ludicrous. Considering his age and strike rate (whenever he has been healthy) along with some pretty solid performances in the YNT, I would think he would be valuable - if only in a David-Bellion-this-guy-has-skills-even-if-he-has-never-demonstrated-them-on-a-great-stage-yet kind of way. If Hugo Viana can be worth 7 million or Christiano Ronaldo can be worth 12 million, than I would think Edson Buddle has got to be worth 7 figures. He is a fabulous athlete. He has enough skill on the ball to play well in midfield. He is extremely young. is the most prolific scorer per minute in MLS apart from Taylor Twellman. Some other players who would probably be worth 1 million+ (dollars, not pounds) if they had been born in the UK (based on their current ability/playing level): Chris Klein Adin Brown Kevin Hartman Simon Elliott Ryan Nelsen Jose Cancela Amado Guevera Nick Garcia Eddie Pope Zizi Roberts (people have drastically underestimated his production - he is a great MLS player) Richard Mulrooney Taylor Twellman (just look at some of the UK players who have gone on multimillion pound transfers - even guys currently in lower divisions! There is no way that Taylor Twellman would not be a serviceable player (i.e. 10+ goals a year) at First Division level, even if he isn't "premiership class") Borderline: DeWayne DeRosario Todd Dunivent Pablo Mastroeni Nick Rimando Chris Armas Kyle Martino Shalrie Joseph Danny Califf Steve Ralston (age, or might be higher) Mark Chung (age, or might be higher) Damani Ralph Pat Noonan Nat Borchers Eddie Johnson Santino Quaranta Brian West Clint Mathis Mike Magee Anyone else have any additions? Bear in mind that a 30 year-old Tony Sanneh was valued well in excess of $1,000,000 when WBA tried to purchase him (I think the figure was £800,000).