Like it or not, Major League Soccer is a better league today than it was yesterday.
With AS Roma confirming this afternoon the transfer of U.S. Men’s National Team star Michael Bradley to Toronto FC, the league not only showed it’s financial might with a team spending $10 million just for the rights to sign him, but also added arguably the best American soccer player playing on this planet today.
Pretty impressive, isn’t it.
Many people (including me) laughed at MLS commissioner Don Garber when he stated last year that his goal was for the league to be considered one of the best in the world. But today, MLS is a step closer to realizing that goal.
As important as it was to sign a player like David Beckham, who could reach into both the sports and pop culture markets, and other foreign imports like Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Robbie Keane, etc…, the turning point for the league will be when they can either retain their American stars or be good enough for them to return. In the last 12 months, we’re already beginning to see a little of both.
In the past 12 months, USMNT starters Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Landon Donovan, and Graham Zusi have all inked long-term contracts to stay in MLS. Meanwhile, Americans who tried their hand at playing overseas with unsuccessful results have returned home and contributed. Just look at Benny Feilhaber (Sporting KC) and Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), for example.
Potentially even bigger, young stars such as DeAndre Yedlin, Shane O’Neill, and Luis Gil (who are all currently training with the USMNT during their January camp) have taken advantage of the homegrown signing rule (and Generation Adidas in Gil’s case) to develop through a team’s academy and work their way into a starting lineup at a younger age than ever before. Both Gil and O’Neill have connections abroad and could have chose to begin their careers in Europe. Instead, they are products of MLS’ rapidly developing growth.
Maybe it’s because it’s a World Cup year, and maybe it’s because Bradley (i’m speculating) felt he was never given a fair chance at Roma to earn a regular starting place. But it’s hard to imagine a few years ago that Bradley, or any U.S. players for that matter, would turn down the chance of being on a team potentially playing (or currently playing, in Jermaine Jones case) in the UEFA Champions League to move to MLS.
Bradley, and to an extent Clint Dempsey before him, represents a changing of the guard for the U.S. player. Now, even without the allure of the Champions League (which both Dempsey and Bradley will now miss out on if they finish their careers in MLS), the chance to make millions more than in Europe with all of the comforts of North America is too much to turn down. If true that Bradley has signed a four-year contract worth $6.5 million per season, a little math shows that he’ll earn $26 million just over the course of the contract.
Not bad for an American soccer player.
Unfortunately for MLS, some of it’s future does hang in the performance of the USMNT. With Bradley coming home, the U.S. could have at least six (and maybe more) USMNT starters that are based in MLS. Even though they’re in the Group of Death, a poor performance at the World Cup could hurt the overall reputation of the league. A positive performance on the other hand could send MLS sky high.
As I mentioned at the top of the story, MLS is a better league today than it was yesterday. With Bradley’s addition to TFC along with forward paid Gilberto and Jermain Defoe, one of the league’s worst teams suddenly became a legit contender overnight.
If the saying “You’re only as strong as your weakest link” is true, then MLS just became a lot stronger today than they were yesterday.
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