Prior to the 2025 season, Vancouver and Montreal were two of the three least valuable franchises in the league. Vancouver had the lowest revenue figure in the league. Forbes MLS Team Valuations 2025 List — Major League Soccer Ranking The other one down there is the Rapids, who are owned by a gazillionaire. Kroenke is literally the largest land-owner in the US. Dallas had the largest negative operating income. They're owned by one of the wealthiest families in the country. [Currently 12th wealthiest according to Forbes. Dan Hunt is the black sheep of the family and only worth 1.6 billion.] Its interesting. I think some uber-billionaire would spend the 500 million franchise fee to put a club where he/she wants. Phoenix, Las Vegas, or somewhere. Would they buy Vancouver and keep them there? I don't know. Seems complicated.
This one is done................... Stephen joins two other Canadians at LAFC. They also have Jacob Shaffelburg and Mathieu Choiniere. LAFC acquire Stephen Eustáquio from FC Porto | MLSSoccer.com LAFC have acquired midfielder Stephen Eustáquio on loan from Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto, the club announced Friday. The 29-year-old Canadian international's loan lasts through June 2026 and includes a purchase option. He will occupy an international slot. LAFC acquired Eustáquio’s Discovery Priority from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for $50,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM).
I doubt LAFC will buy Eustaquio no matter how good he plays with them. If the price tag is really $7M that will make him a DP. Don't see LAFC going that route. But hope he balls out these few games with them.
Not being negative, just being a realist. MLS doesn’t care about Vancouver & Montreal. The exchange rate is a 30% hit, next year’s Aug-May schedule switch will be a big challenge. VAN & MTL selling MLS franchise stake, and reinvesting some of it in the CPL by joining…— Peter Schaad (@PeteSchaad) February 6, 2026
Canadian Soccer Business is now: Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) is now Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment (CSME).A new identity, reflecting the full scope of our role across soccer, media & partnerships⚽Soccer is our heartbeat📺Media is our amplifier🤝Business is our fuelMore: https://t.co/rU17eg3G62 pic.twitter.com/YGG5lzdFCj— Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment (@CSMEPR) February 12, 2026
Brazilian club Palmeiras acquires Vancouver FC Michel Da Silva on loan. South America is now starting to look north SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS. 🦅Vancouver FC has reached an agreement with SE Palmeiras for the loan of midfielder Michel da Silva. The loan runs until January 26, 2027, with a guaranteed fee and an option for a permanent transfer.Keep flying high, Michel! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/R4iMlv9A61— Vancouver FC (@vanfootballclub) February 12, 2026
CSME and Canada Soccer reach landscape changing deal: Canada Soccer and CSME (ex CSB) have finally reached a new deal that changes the landscape of Canadian soccer.- Through 2037 with three year “look-in periods” to ensure it remains fair.- CSME agrees to pay Canada Soccer $19.5 million in two payments or eventually make an…— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) February 13, 2026
Bummer as Canada lose to Jamaica in qualifying, and will miss out on the U17 World Cup. The EXPANDED U17 World Cup. That was a terrible draw, actually, compared to the rest of the groups. We knew it when it happened. One of the seeds was going to get Jamaica from Pot 2, and it was Canada.
If you read between the lines, the strategic leverage CSME gained by forfeiting financial leverage is significant. The commercial success of the CPL will become a huge factor in how much money the CSA stands to gain. The CSA is now in a position that pushing the CPL as high as it can get just became in their financial interest. This deal is the foundation for the eventual exit of MLS from Canada. Outside of the association fees paid by the 3 clubs, this is how much they contribute to the CSA revenues : 0$
Tough draw or not, Canada looked atrocious throughout the competition. There's a couple of very good players in the 09 age group pool and a few others in this tournament looked like there's some decent potential there, but I think half the guys Canada started against Jamaica wouldn't have made the 20-man squad from the 08 age group. I don't know the pool well enough to know if they really missed the boat in selecting the squad, if it's a down generation (there will be plenty of late bloomers, there always is), but the team did not look well-coached and seemed easily frustrated and not very good. I think it's best we didn't get a cupcake draw and then got found out in Qatar. Though more camps and prep time for the 09s would have been welcomed.
Not many of the teams looked good. Very little preparation time with this new annual format. The US scraped thru on goal difference over the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica scraped thru on goal difference over Puerto Rico. Not much coherent team play. It looked like what it was. Inexperienced kids playing on some pretty suspicious fields.
Commercial success and CPL being in the same sentence is certainly something. What's more confounding is that somebody who is presumably a fan of Canadian soccer would openly root for something like this.
You’re mixing two different concepts. CPL’s operational challenges today aren’t the same thing as its commercial potential under CSME (who also controls all commercial rights on national teams, domestic cups, PLSCs and now merchandise is included) . The whole point of the new structure is that the CSA finally has a financial incentive to grow a Canadian league something that’s never existed before. Right now, the three MLS clubs contribute almost nothing to CSA revenues beyond basic association fees. That’s not an insult, it’s just how it is structured. Under CSME, every dollar of commercial growth in the CPL directly strengthens the CSA fiscal situation. That alignment didn’t exist until now and it makes it obvious that the CSA now has a financial incentive to prioritize its own pyramid going forward. That's how the new deal will change Canadian football going forward
I’m going to throw my two-bits in on this question because I think my opinion differs a little from Mr. Borden’s. I’ll use his Bold=locked format and add players in italics were once very safe and have moved to the bubble with their poor recent form. Keeper: Dayne St. Clair - Inter Miami (USA) Maxime Crépeau - Orlando City (USA) I think No. 3 is wide open and doesn’t really matter. Pantemis (Portland) and Gavran (Toronto) are starting in MLS, Sirois (Dallas) and Hibbert (Atlanta) have a shot at starting before June. Goodman remains in poor form this season even after a change of scenery with Barnsley, but I still think he has the highest ceiling of this group. Centrebacks: Moise Bombito - Nice (FRA) Derek Cornelius - Rangers (SCO) Luc de Fougerolles - Dender EH (BEL) (on loan from Fulham) Joel Waterman - Chicago Fire (USA) Alfie Jones - Middlesbrough (ENG) Ralph Priso - Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) During an eight-game run, De Fougerolles got six starts including the wins over Romania and Wales and the draw v Colombia. I think he’s locked in as next-man up if something happens to Bombito or Cornelius. I think plan A is to play Bombito and Cornelius for 90 minutes every match unless one isn’t available. None of these guys can stay healthy, but I still think Bombito and Cornelius are entrenched as the No. 1 pair despite having both missed a lot of time. Alfie Jones made a good debut against an under-strength Venezuela, but I think Joel Waterman played just as well against a better Ecuador side in the same window. No one seems to like Waterman, and I get it, he’s very unconvincing, but Canada has been pretty effective when he’s been on the pitch. My worry about Jones is that he has precious little international experience. He can be rash and over-aggressive in the Championship. He lacks high-end pace, which is always a worry in Marsch’s system with how exposed the CBs are with how aggressive we can be going forward. I don’t know if Jones and Cornelius can play together TBH. Another mark against Jones is that he’s injured and with Luke Ayling ever-present for Boro and former Charlotte defender Adilson Malanda starting eight straight matches (including seven straight wins), I don’t know how easily Jones gets back in the team once he’s healthy. Given that Jones will miss March, that club form could be an important consideration. Priso is a wild card, but if he can start for Vancouver and carry his playoff form into this MLS season, he’s got a shot. I’m not sure Canada even needs to bring a fifth CB, but Priso adds a fifth CB option, while also adding depth to the centre of the midfield and could be the only real true No. 6 option. We’re talking 25 or 26th player here, but that versatility could give him a shot. But he has work to do in MLS and in March if he gets that opportunity. I don’t think it matters too much, but Jones and Priso are both right-footed but play a lot on the left side of the CB pairing. With only one left footer above, that may be a slight advantage to them. Leftback Alphonso Davies - Bayern Munich (GER) Sam Adekugbe – Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) Zorhan Bassong — Sporting Kansas City (USA) I think there’s a really good chance Canada only takes one proper LB to the tournament. It depends on how Marsch wants to use Davies, but if he’s married to him at fullback (and he certainly was a year ago) then there isn’t a lot of need for a reserve. Laryea is more than comfortable at LB, Johnston and De Fougerolles both slotted in there in a pinch recently and Buchanan and Ahmed could too if we’re desperate. I am curious where Davies plays and how Laryea may impact that. For me Laryea has been Canada’s best and most consistent player in 2025. A lot of players have been injured, but Laryea’s ability to play left wing and left back gives options and could create a scenario where he and Davies interchange roles on the left. With 26 there’s space to bring a proper backup LB. I thought Adekugbe was off to an MLS Best XI type start to last season and then was injured early. If he’s anywhere near that form before June we should take him simply because he’d be one of our 26 best players. But I’m skeptical with him coming back from an Achilles injury if he’ll be anywhere near that level. Bassong has been fine, but I don’t think we need the cover and there are better players in other spots if Bassong is LB2. Rightback Alistair Johnston - Celtic (SCO) Ritchie Laryea - Toronto FC (CAN) Niko Sigur - Hajduk Split (CRO) I think Johnston probably gets his starting spot back when he gets healthy, but he’s going to have to be on his A game because Laryea and Sigur are both playing well. I like Sigur on the wing better than in the midfield, but he provides good depth in both spots. I don’t think we’ll see a ton of squad rotation, but this and LW are spots where I think we could see different starters in the group stage. Central Midfield Stephen Eustaquio - Los Angeles FC (USA) Ismael Koné - Sassuolo (ITA) Nathan Saliba - Anderlecht (BEL) Mathieu Choinière - Los Angeles FC (USA) Jonathan Osorio – Toronto FC (CAN) I think this is pretty straightforward. Koné and Eustaquio should start, Saliba and Sigur should get minutes. I think Choinière has done enough to keep his squad place, but I haven’t been too impressed by him in a Canada shirt lately and I don’t think he’s going to see a lot of time with LAFC. When he took over, I think Marsch viewed Osorio as his new Sacha Kljestan, a veteran, quasi-coach in the middle of the park. I don’t think Osorio has played well enough, but he also might be the closest thing to another No. 10 in the mix for a spot. My gut says he doesn’t make it, but I think he’s not completely out contention yet. Right Wing Tajon Buchanan - Villareal (ESP) Laryea and Sigur are both pretty good in this spot if needed and Ahmed and Millar are both right-footed, but have always played better on their off wing. I think we’ve got plenty of wing depth and Buchanan is going to play big minutes. Left Wing Ali Ahmed - Norwich City (ENG) Liam Millar - Hull City (ENG) Jacob Shaffelburg – Los Angeles FC (USA) Jayden Nelson – Austin FC (USA) Marcelo Flores – UANL Tigres (MEX) This is one of the best battles for a squad place and a starting spot. I think Ali Ahmed earned his spot at the top of this list, but Liam Millar has been good for Hull since coming back. If it ends up being Italy in the opener, I kind of like Laryea starting in this role… Shaffelburg had a bad 2025, but he had a great 2024. How much did his nagging groin injury hinder him last season? Is he a new man after surgery? How does the change of scenery help him and how much does he play in LA? How much more effective can he be with Davies drawing attention on the left wing – something he didn’t get last year. I am not as enamoured with Flores as some. He doesn’t defend, he gets dispossessed a lot, he drifts in and out matches… but he is very quick, can by dynamic and can hit a ball with some venom. I think there’s a case to make with him being one of the last guys in the squad as a late-game break glass in case of emergency sub. I am curious how Nelson performs in Austin. I didn’t think he did enough with his opportunities in the fall which opens the door for someone like Flores, but Flores hasn’t done anything in Canada shirt yet either… Second Striker Jonathan David - Juventus (ITA) Junior Hoilett – Swindon Town (ENG) This is J David’s role. He has to do a ton in this role and frankly no one else seems prepared to fill it. Larin hasn’t really worked there, I’m not sold on Osorio. I don’t think Flores fits here naturally and I don’t think he’ll cover the ground needed to do it and Russell-Rowe was okay in the role v Guatemala, but not enough to excite me. Hoilett is a real darkhorse and mostly plays on the left wing, but he could play here. He’s played well when he’s had the chance lately and League Two is a terrible level, but he’s also been great so far for Swindon. I don’t think he’ll make it, but we’ll see. Target Forward Tani Oluwaseyi - Villareal (ESP) Promise David - Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) Cyle Larin - Southampton (ENG) Daniel Jebbison - Preston North End (ENG) Jacen Russell-Rowe – Toulouse (FRA) I would like to see Promise David get a little more opportunity than he has had, but I think Tani is going to start as the first choice. Larin was playing himself out of a spot that I thought was very safe, but he may be pulling out of his nose-dive at Southampton. Jebbison, JRR, Shaff and Flores won’t all make this team, but I think two definitely will and it’s possible three of those four find a way into the squad. The issue with this forward group is that they’re pretty like-for-like. They have different profiles and Jebbison and Larin can play on the wing (I am in NO WAY advocating for that though), but they’re all 9s and I don’t see many situations where two of them are on the pitch at the same time. Which begs the question about whether we need four of those guys. Even with the lack of someone to back-up J David. Russell-Rowe is off to a bit of a slow start in France and Jebbison has been more of an energetic nuisance than goal-scorer with PNE, but I think Jebbo is the front-runner if a fifth forward makes it. So that’s 18 ‘locks’ and three ‘pretty safes’ in my humble opinion. That leaves five spots: one will be a third keeper, another will be a fourth CB, then there’s some flexibility in the last three spots in terms of taking another LB, how many forwards and wingers are needed, if Priso can sneak in as a versatile depth piece… there’s a lot of moving pieces for those final three spots, but those guys are pretty unlikely to get on the pitch anyway. The core group is pretty set IMO.
Thanks for the write-up. It's a fun team. A couple of thoughts: This will sound like shit talk but I would 100% leave Richie Laryea home. He used to be a decent player who was excellent at baiting mediocre refs into giving pens and fouls, but now he's a washed up player who, when he tries that flopping crap with WC level refs, will just start to bias the ref against Canada for the embarrassing level of flop. I've watched it happen with Canada, and even in MLS: refs do not like his shit. Leave Larin home. He's not a fit for Marsch and he's never been scary for Canada. There was a point where you didn't have enough talent to ignore him but that's not true now. I would absolutely bring a JRR over him. Flores doesn't fit on a Marsch team, either. He's not that great, anyway -- your offense is running through Davies and David anyway; guys like Buchanan and Olu paired with them are freaking nightmares. You're not a possession team. You're a scary speed team.
Yes, I've heard all of the claims from the committed cultists over on the Canada forum. But it begs the question. If the CSA had no incentive before this deal then what incentive did they have to create the league in the first place? And what made you drink the kool-aid before now? I think it's just a post hoc rationalization for why the league has failed to meet every single benchmark and expectation that was set for it.
You’re asking the wrong question. The CSA didn’t create the CPL because they expected commercial returns, they created it because Canada literally had no domestic pathway for players, coaches, referees or executives. Three MLS clubs could never supply the volume or breadth needed for a country of 40 million to reach its full potential. Two major reasons for supporting the creation of the CPL: Canada’s 2026 World Cup ambitions: The original plan was a solo bid and FIFA requires a functioning domestic league. Addressing the development pathway problem:MLS clubs alone couldn’t produce enough Canadian players, coaches or referees to sustain a competitive national program. The roster rules discriminating against Canadians didn't help matters - Montaglinani almost pulled the 3 clubs from MLS over this. Those are governance and development incentives not commercial ones. Without that first crucial step, we'd probably go back to be a mediocre nation once our golden generation aged out. If you ask me personally why I bought in? Tired of losing and not qualifying for world cups despite having 3 clubs in MLS. None of this is a post‑hoc excuse. The CPL has had operational struggles as a young league and nobody denies that. That doesn’t change the fact that the league now sits at the center of the CSA’s revenue model. Pulling all assets together in a country where corporate support for the sport is still emerging makes sense. It allows for smarter redistribution of resources and finally addresses areas that were previously underfunded or fragmented. The CSA supporting its domestic league isn’t cultish; it’s literally how every successful footballing nation operates. A strong domestic league strengthens the federation and a strong federation strengthens the domestic league. Canada is finally building that same cycle. Why would you be against that?
So they had an incentive. The argument that they really mean it (!) this time is nonsense. Also, if they didn't create the league for a potential financial return then why would that matter now? What changed? I asked why you drank the kool-aid if the CSA had no incentive to make it work. But, of course, they did have an incentive. Also, I can assure you that CPL had nothing to do with Canada qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. There's no evidence that the CSA has any interest in undermining MLS or it's Canadian teams. That's a fan-driven narrative. What's cultish is the open hatred of MLS and public efforts to do it harm just to make yourself feel better. Because that's all it would do. The destruction of the 3 MLS teams guarantees $0 of investment in the CPL.
The incentive changed because the structure of the deal changed. Under the old deal, the CSA received a flat fee regardless of how well CSB performed. As far as CPL is concerned, whether the league thrived or struggled, the CSA’s revenue didn’t move. That meant the CSA could support the CPL philosophically but there was no financial upside tied to league growth. Under the new CSME model, the CSA’s revenue is proportional. The more money CSME generates, the more the CSA receives. That directly ties the CSA’s financial health to the CPL’s commercial success since its commercial rights are bundled with Canada Soccer. It also means the CPL benefits from a stronger CSA in return so their incentives are finally aligned. The CSA always had development incentives such as pathways, referees, coaches and 2026 World Cup requirements but they didn’t have a commercial incentive. Now they do,that’s the difference.It’s not about ‘really meaning it this time’, it’s about the financial architecture finally matching the developmental goals. You’re still mixing up two different incentives. The CSA always had development incentives to support a domestic league (pathways, referees, coaches, executives) and the requirements tied to the 2026 World Cup bid. That’s why the CPL was created in the first place. Nobody said the CSA had no incentive, the point is that they had no commercial incentive. Under the old CSB deal, the CSA received a flat fee no matter what happened. That structure wasn’t fundamentally different from the even worse media‑rights deals they had before CSB existed. The CPL could overperform or underperform and the CSA’s revenue stayed the same. What changed under CSME is proportionality. The CSA’s revenue now scales with CSME’s revenue which includes CPL commercial revenues. The more commercial success the CPL generates, the more the CSA earns. Logically, this means that the CSA has a vested interest in ensuring that the CPL performs since it now impacts its potential revenue. That alignment simply didn’t exist before. Both CSME and CSA are now strategic partners. True, CPL had nothing to do with qualifying for 2022 but that was never the target. The league was built for what comes after 2022. One of the reasons the original CSB deal was so lopsided is that CSA completely misread the timeline of the men’s program. They assumed meaningful success was still years away and didn't believe that they'd qualify for 2022 (hence no 2022 kits). At the time. they viewed CSB’s guaranteed flat‑fee offer with the added value of adding a league to the pyramid as impossible to turn down. CSB, on the other hand, bet that the national team would rise much faster and they were right. The moment Canada qualified early, the economics of the deal flipped and it became obviously one‑sided. The mistake was the CSA assuming the national team would stay mediocre long enough for a flat‑fee deal to make sense. You were saying? https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/13/mls-canada-american-citizens I don’t hate MLS but I also don’t have to pretend the lack of roster reciprocity hasn’t been a long‑standing problem. MLS had the power to fix that imbalance for years and chose not to. That’s one of the reasons a domestic league became necessary in the first place. There’s no ‘public effort’ to harm MLS in Canada. The biggest hits to MLS visibility here came from MLS itself: the Apple deal removing games from linear TV and the calendar change that makes northern markets harder to operate while freeing the best windows in the spring/summer to CPL. Those were league decisions not some anti‑MLS conspiracy. No one will "destroy the 3 clubs" - they might implode or quit over time. I supposed you're going to accuse the "cultists" for Vancouver deciding to put up the club for sale or forcing Joey Saputo to complain about not turning a profit ever since he joined the league. Go ahead
And what I'm saying is that they had an incentive before which you claimed they didn't. There wouldn't have been a league if there was no incentive. The CSA won't "try" any harder, and the CPL won't be any more "successful" because of this deal. It's all just a post hoc cope. I'm not mixing anything up. I'm just telling you that this is all a BS cope to pretend that everything has changed now when, in fact, little has changed. The league is still fledgling and the CSA is still broke. You're just filibustering by repeating the same line over and over again. Nobody is confused. We're just unmoved. I love the idea that empty rhetoric in an article from 9.5 years ago somehow changes the lived reality which is that the 3 teams persist in MLS to this day. What's more is that Canadians still don't count as domestics on American teams and Montagliani has done nothing about it. Excuse my phrasing but he ain't gonna do shit. The fact that you believe that his "warning" is anything other than posturing is embarrassing. You do. I'm not saying that you have any clout or anything. I'm just saying that the talking points are finely tuned and repeated over and over again on X and forums like BigSoccer. I said that there was a public effort to harm MLS and you segue into unrelated and often repeated talking points about Apple TV and the calendar change. Almost like you're required to repeat them a certain number of times per year. MLS is still on linear TV and the Apple TV deal is the most lucrative in American/Canadian soccer history. A fan of a broke league claiming that this is a "hit" to visibility is classic. That is almost as silly as claiming that the calendar change will "free" windows for the CPL. There will be no MLS games for like 6 weeks. People will definitely watch soccer in that time but it won't be CPL. They'll be watching World Cups, Gold Cups, Euros, Copas, Friendlies, etc. You see, people have to care about something in order prioritize watching it. It's not as if my son's rec league will have more eyeballs on it because MLS "freed up" summer windows.