The MLS transfer window is a little different from the windows of most other major soccer leagues. The concept is the same, but in terms of timing, the windows don’t line up with the likes of Serie A, La Liga, the Premier League, or the Bundesliga.
There are good reasons for this, though, and actually, it can make player transfers a lot more interesting for global soccer fans.
In case you are new to soccer, the transfer window is the period of time in which clubs are allowed to sign players from other clubs, be they Major League Soccer clubs or clubs from other leagues in other countries. When the transfer window is closed, you are stuck with the squad you’ve got until it opens again. This is regulated by FIFA, the global governing body of association football.
One important distinction to note is that although clubs can only sign players during the MLS transfer window, players can be sold at any time, provided the receiving club’s transfer window is open. On top of that, players on a free transfer (not currently signed at another club), can be signed at any time, but may not be able to play until the next transfer window opens due to registration rules.
This applies to all soccer leagues, but the MLS transfer window is unique in a number of ways.
MLS Has Two Transfer Windows
Like most other leagues in the world, MLS has two transfer windows. This is to allow mid-season changes to accommodate injuries or gaps that have appeared in club rosters due to poor form or a change in tactics and/or head coach.
For MLS, those two windows are:
- Primary Transfer Window – Mid January to late April
- Secondary Transfer Window – Early July to early August
The exact dates of the windows varies each year, but they typically fall within the timeframes I mentioned above. FIFA lets clubs set their own dates, but stipulates that the primary window must be no longer than 12 weeks and the secondary window must be no longer than 4 weeks.
The primary transfer window is when most player movement takes place, since the window is open during the off season, when clubs can focus on rebuilding for the season to come without the pressure of a schedule on top. It stays open for the start of the season, but the bulk of the work behind the scenes will be going on before the season kicks off. The SuperDraft is scheduled for the beginning of this window too.
The secondary transfer window is much shorter, but it gives clubs an opportunity to bolster their ranks before the final few months of the regular season leading up to the playoffs.
Clubs can negotiate deals throughout the season and line up transfers so they are ready to go, but players can only actually join MLS clubs during these set transfer windows. For example, Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami 10 days into the secondary transfer window of 2023, but you can bet that deal took longer than 10 days to structure and get signed off.
Why MLS is Different (And Why It Confuses Europeans)
For any soccer league, the transfer window is designed to fit around the season, so to understand why the MLS transfer window is when it is, we only need to look at the MLS season schedule.
Unlike most of the footballing world, which follows an August to May season schedule, MLS runs from late February to December (including the playoffs). This means the MLS season fits inside a single calendar year, and this is by design.
There is one obvious reason for this: the weather. In many parts of the US and Canada, winter weather conditions would make playing soccer impractical at best and impossible at worst. Playing through snow and freezing temperatures just wouldn’t work, so Major League Soccer simply avoids them. The MLS Cup final wraps up before the worst conditions set in and the new season doesn’t begin until they have passed.
This gives us a primary transfer window in the middle of winter, positioned perfectly to coincide with pre-season and the start of competitive play. It’s not designed to line up with the transfer windows elsewhere in the world because that would not suit MLS, but for European clubs, this is slap bang in the middle of their season.
The secondary window is simply positioned so that it opens roughly mid-way through the MLS season, which happens to be in the summer. This confuses some European fans because their primary transfer window is in the summer and their secondary window is in the winter. So for them, it feels like its flipped on its head.
The MLS season is also set up so as not to clash with with NFL games, because a lot of soccer fans are also fans of American football. Major League Soccer wants them to be able to watch both sports rather than create competition and dilute the audience. This also harks back to the days when most MLS clubs shared stadiums with NFL teams. Most have now moved to soccer specific stadiums, but a handful still share with NFL teams.
Marquee Signings
While MLS’s transfer windows don’t align neatly with Europe’s, the timing often works in its favour.
MLS has positioned itself as an ideal league for star players approaching the end of their careers, who still want to compete at a high level but also extend their time on the pitch. Major League Soccer may not be at the same level as the Premier League etc., but for world class players in their 30s, it’s perfect. Still competitive, still respectable, still able to pay the sort of wages they want, but a little easier than what they have been used to.
Now consider that most contracts in Europe run out around June, once their season is over. This lines up perfectly with Major League Soccer’s secondary transfer window which opens in July.
For this reason, lots of marquee signings occur in the secondary window. Messi, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Son Heung Min, and many other huge international stars joined MLS clubs in the secondary window, making it one of the most exciting times of the year for MLS fans. It also means that these key additions can have a direct impact on the season, as they are joining part way through.
A great example is Didier Drogba joining Montréal Impact (now CF Montréal) in July 2015. Before Drogba arrived, Montréal were inconsistent and hovering just below the playoffs in 8th place, having won just 7 of the first 20 games and scoring only 24 goals – one of the lowest in the conference. Drogba scored 11 goals in 11 games, linked up beautifully with Ignacio Piatti, and turned Montréal into a real threat. They only lost 2 of their remaining games and finished in 3rd place, easily making the playoffs.
So the MLS transfer window might be different, but it certainly makes things more interesting from a global perspective.