US American soccer team Atlanta United, who play in the Eastern Conference of the MLS (Major League Soccer) competition, recently broke a new transfer record when signing Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath for a reported fee of £17.6 million ($22) plus add-ons.
The new forward joined the MLS side on February 4, 2025, after signing a multi-year contract that’s set to last at least four years. Not only was it a record fee for Atalanta, but also for the MLS.
It was even a record transfer fee for English Championship side Middlesbrough, where Lath left to join Atalanta after spending a couple of years there (2023-25). During his time there, he scored 27 goals in 59 appearances.
Let’s dive straight in and take a closer look at how this record transfer fee might impact the MLS’s future.
Will This Record-Breaking Transfer Fee Raise the Global Profile of the MLS?
Image credit: Hayden Schiff from Cincinnati, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Yes. The record transfer fee to secure the services of Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) international football star Emmanuel Lath will no doubt raise the profile of the MLS at both home and abroad.
The latest move surpassed the previous record MLS transfer fee of $16.2 million, which FC Cincinnati paid for French/Togolese forward Kévin Denkey just one month prior.
Some of the other big deals made over the past decade or so in the MLS included the €14.50 million transfer fee that Atalanta paid for attacking midfielder Gonzalo Martinez in January 2019 and the €12.80 million they paid the previous year for Attacking midfielder Esequiel Barco.
Big transfers like this help put the spotlight on the MLS and make people pay attention to what’s happening here. It’s the world’s fastest-growing men’s professional domestic football league that keeps showing incredible revenue growth with each passing season.
Famous players like David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Didier Drogba, Kaka, Thierry Henry, Clint Dempsey, David Villa, Javier Hernandez, Robbie Keane, and Carlos Valderrama are just some of the other high-profile footballers from the past thirty years who have also helped grow the league’s global profile.
Who Will Win the 2025 MLS Title?
If you are interested in the MLS and want to place a bet on who might win this season, the best website for football betting in South Africa is the official 10bet online sportsbook, which can be accessed by anyone aged 18 or above.
Although the upcoming 2025 campaign hasn’t started yet, you can already place pre-match MLS 2025 outright winner bets. Here are some of the latest MLS odds. We have included the latest odds for the top four teams with the best chance of lifting the title this season:
- Bet type: 2025 MLS outright winner. Team: Inter Miami CF. Odds: 7/2 (fractional) or 4.50 (decimal). Implied probability rate (IPR): 22.20%
- Bet type: 2025 MLS outright winner. Team: Los Angeles FC. Odds: 6/1 (fractional) or 7.00 (decimal). IPR: 14.30%
- Bet type: 2025 MLS outright winner. Team: LA Galaxy. Odds: 9/1 (fractional) or 10.00 (decimal). IPR: 10.00%
- Bet type: 2025 MLS outright winner. Team: Columbus Crew. Odds: 10/1 (fractional) or 11.00 (decimal). IPR: 9.10%
If you are interested to know, Inter Miami CF are the current odds-on favourites to win the Eastern Conference at around 5/4 (2.25) with a 44.40% implied probability rate, followed by Columbus Crew (second odds-on favourites) at around 6/1 (7.00) with a 14.30% IPR.
Los Angeles FC are currently priced at around 3/1 (4.00) with a 25.00% IPR to win the Western Conference outright, followed by second odds-on favourites LA Galaxy at 4/1 (5.00) with a 20.00% IPR.
Upcoming Fixtures
The new season is fast approaching, and the first two games of the 2025 MLS campaign will get underway on Saturday, February 22, when Inter Miami take on New York City at home, and LAFC host Minnesota.
Columbus Crew are at home to Chicago Fire the following day, February 23, and LA Galaxy play San Diego FC at home on February 24.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 MLS campaign is shaping up to be one of the most closely fought competitions in recent years, and it’s expected to achieve record television viewing and spectatorship numbers, which goes to show just how much this league has grown.
On a final note, anyone living in South Africa who wants to place real money wagers on this league should gamble responsibly and stick to betting on legally permitted iGaming sites like 10bet, which specifically caters to the South Africa market in many ways.
It’s free to join, and can be accessed online using any decent-working, Wi-Fi/internet-connected smartphone, tablet, desktop computer or laptop, provided you are at least 18.