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MLS is also a good place to see some of Europe's biggest stars play in the final years of their careers. I've always thought a league full of almost-retired le
by eschulz 4y ago
MLS is also a good place to see some of Europe's biggest stars play in the final years of their careers. I've always thought a league full of almost-retired legends was a good way to get some publicity.
- hermitdev 4y agoI was a season ticket holder of a club that kept bringing in the older stars. Frankly, it was frustrating as a fan that wanted to see their team do well in the MLS Cup & US Open Cup. I was a ticket holder during one US Open Cup win and elimination in the semi finals of an MLS Cup run. The team did both without retiring international stars. My perspective on the big money stars coming in is that it's a huge financial drain on the team for around 1/2-3 years of performance by the star. Yes, MLS has designated players (DPs), but last I looked, the first $500k in salary still counts towards the team's salary cap. I'm not sure what the salary cap is this year, but even if they've doubled it from the last time I paid attention, it'd only be $5M... It's a huge chunk of change relative to the rest of the team for not a lot of performance. Teams would largely be better off finding and growing youth talent than brining in another DP. I finally gave up on my tickets after nearly 15 years because it was apparent the team wasn't interested in winning cups anymore. Ownership just wanted to fill the stadium with whatever retiring star they could get their hands on.
- jandrewrogers 4y agoThe best teams in MLS typically don't have any retired legends. This is a gimmick more commonly associated with not-so-good teams. Most good MLS teams are heavy with South American talent in their prime and, increasingly, products of their own academies.