Messi to Miami
- Thread starter prodigy
- Start date
Wonder why he made this decision?
prodigy
Well-Known Member
He wasnt going back to Spain. I was expecting him to go to the Premier League. But I guess MLS made him a offer he couldnt refuse.
Alright, so I know **** about soccer, but I do know that we as Americans (like me as an individual) don’t really follow soccer or consider it a major sport in the US, and as such recognize that MLS isn’t necessarily a premier league. However, I’ve also never really understood the landscape of professional soccer world wide. I know it’s the European leagues that are most competitive (don’t ask me to be any more specific than that) and I know that MLS is not all that relevant. That being said, you had guys like Beckham who played in the league (I can’t vouch for how good he really is because, well, I know nothing about soccer and I’ve never actually seen him play, but I do know his reputation) and now someone like Messi. Someone help me understand how MLS fits in to the world of professional soccer. Are we like the Chinese CBA bad or are we more like the Australian league?
Shed loads of money, 50 million per year, a slice of adidas merchandise sales, a slice of TV subscriptions and an ownership stake at the end of his career. Messi will be 38 at the end of this deal he's not going to get this money elsewhere, from a business and probably from a personal life perspective its a good deal for him.
Its an Ok league, highly professional, well organised and resourced off the pitch, quality of football on the pitch isn't like say the Brazilian national league or the Liga MX but its more professional off the pitch. Its hard to rank it globally its probably in the top 40 or 50 leagues in the world, which doesn't sound too flash but that still a very high standard. Celtic picked up a lad from the MLS this season and he was quality, a bunch of good players in the UK who are say just below premier league level go to the MLS and its a decent payday and lifestyle. Messi has said a big driver for him is lower mental stress and the fact that its not going to be as tough as La Liga or the premiership, (plus nobody in la liga or the premier league is going to offer him a deal like this.) End of the day I think its a good deal for football in North America.
Its definitely better than the A league but this list has it ahead of the SPFL, J League, Serie B, Spanish La Liga 2 French Ligue 2, the Argentine and Swiss leagues and the Bundesliga 2, which it definitely isnt. I'd also say the Austrian Bundesliga, Polish First division and Czech league are a better standard too.
Safetydan
Well-Known Member
It's hard to really tell outside of the eye-test considering the lack of inter-league competition. When was the last time an MLS side was put against a La Liga 2 team? And even if they did it would just be a pre-season friendly or something like that. All we know is we're somewhat on par with Liga MX but fall short frequently in the Concacaf champs league final.
A decent indicator is player movements, young talented players generally leave the MLS for European leagues, older European players go to the MLS for a payday. I'm surprised its on a level with Liga MX cause most of Mexico's best players at the moment aren't heading to Europe, mind you almost all of the USAs best players are playing overseas at the moment.