As an avid MLS watcher and enjoyer, I understand that the league isn’t up to the highest standard of a lot of the biggest leagues in the world. In fact, I can admit that if it wasn’t for the league being in America, we wouldn’t have half the players we have.
When Beckham or Messi joined the MLS they weren’t doing it because it was a good challenging league, they did it because the league is a lot easier than the top European Leagues, it pays really well and allows you to live in America.
Best Of A Bad Bunch
Over the last decade or so we have seen some leagues spawn in with huge investors and offer soccer players huge wages and bonuses to sign for them. We have seen this very recently with Saudi Arabia, which announced itself to the soccer world and started to sign world-class players and offer them wages no club in the world could match.
Before Saudi Arabia, there was China and even before them was us, the MLS. But, here we are still, the MLS is still standing and successful whereas the Chinese Super League is never mentioned. Saudi Arabia has a whole host of issues that some footballers have spoken out against.
The smallest one that doesn’t affect the footballers is the gambling laws, as a religious country, gambling is illegal so fans of football can’t be betting live on football or they will be reprimanded. As I said, Saudi Arabia is a religious country so because of this, its treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community and women is frowned upon heavily.
How We Are Better
The US is one of the fastest-growing and maintained countries in the world. We try to treat everyone equally and footballers and their families can come over without the issues that they would have in Saudi Arabia.
High Profile Names
As I have said a few times, big-name players love the MLS and a debate that has been had is the effect these players have on the league. There is no doubt that having these high-profile names is good for the youth watching the league and the monetary effects are massive, but does it make the league easier or harder?
Well, I think an important part of this is the knock-on effects for the players. The main selling point of the MLS to a wider audience is the players who come into the league, again Messi is a fantastic example. However, as a nation, it is no secret that we struggle. The USMNT is a lot worse than the womens and this is because we let the women play in their league and grow.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1681066857351065606
With the massive players coming in, the younger players who could shine in this position are going to lose their place in the team and fall down the pecking order so their club can sell more shirts. As a nation, we have the potential to be great but we need to keep the MLS as a league and not as a way to make money. We constantly bring massive footballers that are past it, like Zlatan and Rooney, into teams and stunt the growth of our youth.
Can We Become One Of The Best?
Even though this may seem like a fairly negative read, I do love this league and I wholeheartedly believe that we can become one of the biggest and best leagues in the world.
I think, as more investment goes into the league and a new golden generation of American talent shines through and learns off the icons that fill the league, we could see the MLS get better and our nation become a stronger unit in “football”.