How do you guys feel about an updated video on James Rodriguez? How has 2014's World Cup Golden Boot winner (and former La Liga Best Midfielder) ended up dropping down to the Qatari league at just 30? Could be interesting?
He was always overrated and doesn’t really fit in the new systems who discard number tens. Plus , when he did that World Cup, he was warming the bench at Monaco. Real splashed out 80 million on an injury prone player, just for marketing reasons in South America pretty much. It inflated the market, as it was pre neymar transfer. Let’s be real , you splash out that much money on the basis of four games in a World Cup where everything can happen? It was destined to be a failure, and obviously it was. Good player, just not at the level everyone expected, just because of a screamer.
@@sathya_narayanan So true! He didn't believe he should work for his place in the starting eleven. "I'm being paid so much, money, I should be starting every match." He wrecked his new car. Too much money, too fast! Another great signing for Los Blancos 👏👏👏👏👏
One reason is surely that the classical number ten, of which james, besides Özil and others is a prime example, is no longer needed in most teams' tactical approach. Another one is that he was not realy able to adapt to that And probably he is one of those players who have a lot of talent but not the mind/grind set to work for staying at the top
No disrespect but Australian football is a joke. Poor crowds, poor quality, destination for 35 year old mid tier players. Nothing exciting or worth caring about.
@@carlossaldana8791 That's what makes the MLS unique, stable, and competitive. I wish Europeans would understand that, because there's a hesitation from them to embrace the MLS. Some are like that, not all. I mean, we in North America love the European game just as much, sometimes more. Why can't they do the same?
@@BrendanP It's because your entire sports system (and everything about your country) is fake, artificially created. As for why people would not want to watch the MLS, maybe it's the standard of football and complete lack of history and culture. You cannot just invent teams by creating and selling franchises and expect people outside to care.
Would love more MLS videos! Some ideas: The insane home field advantage/away game ppg in MLS compared to other top football leagues, Save the Crew, FC Cincy's catastrophic first three seasons which include a wooden spoon three-peat, A general video on all the new stadiums that have popped up over the last number of years and what that means for the league, MLS Cup vs Supporters Shield, etc etc
Supporters shield a pointless trophy now :( they need to rethink it so it is fair for teams of both leagues Also home field advantage is a thing in almost all American sports. Traveling several hours across many time zones affects almost all athletes negatively
One factor that was hinted at but not stated outright is when you buy an MLS club, it STAYS in MLS. Leagues in other countries have the promotion-relegation thing which does not exist in the US soccer scheme.
It will be interesting to see how the next MLS TV negotiations go. The valuations seem to be a bet that the next tv contract will produce a windfall for the franchise owners. While it will surely increase from $90M per year, what will it end up being? It seems like the highest rated domestic broadcasts are on Spanish language channels.
Actually, the valuations are a bet on SUM. Which is going to make them a massive amount of money in 2025 & 2026. Even with the tie to the USSF technically severed.
the NFL's new media contract starting in 2023 is more than $110 billion for 11 years that is more than 11 times the value of the current MLS media contracts, it seems that either the MLS is undervalued or the NFL is overvalued.
@@augustliberty3683 I'm not sure. Getting at least $250M a year is good. At minimum, it should make it easier for all the teams to attract high quality players, either DPs or high end TAM guys. Idk that locking in a 10 year deal on a platform that soccer fans currently know best for Ted Lasso is good. I would have preferred ESPN or peacock and I will miss the local broadcasters if they aren't used in the future.
There’s missing information that Europeans don’t get: To ensure that small market clubs (with less funds) are financially afloat, there’s a salary cap, trades are more frequent, and draft picks for young talent. This is what you see in the NBA and NFL. This prevents top clubs from simply hoarding all the young talent and loan them out for a profit. Like Chelsea for example. So imagine if a English club in league 2 gets an 18 year old Messi? If top clubs want to trade for Messi, they have to give up their 5+ future draft picks so they can’t sign young players in the future. If you spend over the cap, you pay a tax for every million dollar you spend over the cap limit. I think the tax goes to charity if I’m not mistaken
The draft should be abolished. Soccer has the largest player pool being an international sport. They can go find the talent. And if a club has an 18 year old messi. You dont trade for draft picks. You sellhim on the open market, not in your league. This is how the actual businessin soccer is done
@@freeisalwaysme You obviously don't understand it. MLS teams could sell their young talents on the world transfer market. But if a another MLS team wants to buy that "18 yr messi" they have to give up future draft picks to ensure no one team can sign contracts with all of the best young players and make the league uncompetitive. MLS teams don't depend on the draft since they have academies but the draft is a opportunity to the Show (first division) for those college players who either wanted to complete school first or players who didn't have the opportunity to join a MLS academy.
Agree! Indeed the interaction between the Japanese league and the Korean league is quite interesting. J League is so much more commercially successful and has a sustainable fanbase, yet its teams are consistently outperformed by K League teams in the AFC Champions League. Some says it’s because the prize money from J League is much more attractive than that from the ACL. It would be great if Tifo can take a look at it!!!
Lots of fixing in the J league, lots of cultural politics within each team's management. That's why every decent japanese player play overseas. Look up the story of Kazuyoshi Miura, the guy is still playing now at the age of 54, while he can't even run which is embarrassing. Pretty much a nutshell of japan society and the J league.
i like MLS recruitment. A lot of teams sign players from South America or European lower leagues for very cheap or on loans and they can really shine in the MLS .
Yeah it’s done a great way getting away from the retirement stereotype and while there still might be a aging star or two the majority really isn’t anymore
@@hunterdvs6535 he's really young, he'll go to Europe soon enough if he's good enough. If he stays in the mls he won't develop as the standard of defence is garbage, was a poor decision for his career.
I don’t think worsening the product is actually a problem. The thing with football is that it has the largest playing base of any sport in the world so theoretically if they league keeps signing more foreign players the can keep the standard the same or even improve it if they keep adding players
Yep, and it is 55% foreign. However the beauty of this time is that the reliance in imports does not impede academy products. Almost all homegrown players are u25, but even a 17 y/o academy player with professional potential is going to be more worthwhile than a 22 y/o from college. Young players provide depth at the very least and often have greater potential than the older players who were less fortunate to go through an inferior pathway.
because no relegation, and massive speculation in those values. they'll collapse eventually when growth plateaus and football is still the US's 6th sport or something.
MLS! SOCCAH! FIELD! CLEATS! PK'S! JERSEYS! But seriously MLS is majestic. You can have an amazing volley by a centerback one minute and the worst defensive error the next by the same player. Plus the team's social media admins are unhinged and I love it
That's why I love it so much. Is MLS the best league? No. But it is insanely fun and let's me watch soccer without having to get up at 4 in the morning
My own theory is a lot of the valuations are speculation that there will be more revenue in the future. It's as if they are factoring in the likely increase in revenue a better TV contract will generate as well as a post World Cup boost up in a few years. I would be interested to see valuations a few years after the World Cup in 2026 to see if these projections are justified or wishful thinking.
Europe’s top leagues have been trying SUPER hard to get the US to start watching football over the past 5 years, and it has completely worked. I’ve been telling my friends for the past couple years that football will take over baseball’s spot as the US’ third most popular sport within the next 10 years. I didn’t watch football before a couple years ago because I didn’t understand it and never gave it a real shot. After watching the Prem during COVID I realized it was super fun to watch, even without fans, then when fans came back it was awesome. The same way football is almost taboo in the US, I know for a fact American sports are taboo in Europe. You should give American football, but more importantly, basketball a chance. As an American I like basketball more and it’s literally just a 5 a side street ball game but people use their hands instead of feet. Super entertaining. Give basketball a shot, not to mention the 2 best players in the NBA right now are both European, one from Greece and one from Slovenia.
@@icrackfofun Broaden horizons? Excuse me? We're a country that love sports in general. Last time I heard we have four professional leagues in regards to four different sports - MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL. Add in the MLS and now MLR (rugby). If anything, what the USA is doing is completely natural to its core: accepting other foreign products and appreciating it, even if it may take some time. I can't say that for the rest of the world. (Japan has been the exception.)
@@TickleMeElmo55 hello, i agree with you. For example portugal (where i am from) is football and not much else (although this is changing)... But my point is mls franchises are expensive solely because of THE AMERICAN MARKET driving it... The league is objectively not great and no one in europe really cares about it. My point is this: If each country in europe had an economy as great as the USA, almost every league would be worth 10 to 20 times more. The franchise is expensive because well... It is THE american football league, despite it being objectively uncompetitive
@@epic9748 Canada is part of all those leagues except NFL which is still super popular here , we care and I believe Mexicans also watch quite a bit of NBA and NFL.
Look MLS isn’t bright and glamorous, but it has its own charm. Outlandish goals get scored week after week. And the league is only getting better season after season.
I’ve followed the sport for 6 years, I used to support an English club because I had no other alternative, I still support them although not as diligently. Once Atlanta United came to town it showed so many people what the sport can be. It showed how it can be entertaining. American perception of soccer is stuck at it being a boring game played by kids, and super talented Europeans. But with the recent explosion in the MLS, as well as the 2026 World Cup, I think the sport is looking pretty good over here
“Soccer appeals to the US’ growing Latin American population” which is weird considering outside of a few traditional metro area most of MLS’ franchises are in cities that don’t have large Hispanic population. It’s basically the two older Texas teams, LA, and Miami. And no actually goes to see the Miami team like every other pro franchise in that city that isn’t the heat or dolphins.
Atlanta is mostly black and white but they are very popular. and Cincinnati is very popular for a city of its size and it’s also mostly black and white. People from outside the US and Canada often think this demographic shift is more important than it actually is
@@terrywho22 Except all those sports are less popular than football (soccer) and the leagues that do it have a near monopoly on the sport (as they are the singular league in a country where it's most popular).
@@3dsaulgoodman43 To me, the most interesting thing is this potential partnership with Liga MX. Maybe a big reason for the recent rapid growth in value of the MLS clubs.
The salary cap makes a huge difference. Also control over ownership. The Premiership may be 100 times more popular, but big clubs can’t make a profit if they’re trying to compete with oil money teams who are happy to lose money.
Being in the lower half of a Big 5 league is not very secure. Got to overspend to keep your spot, and your team still loses a lot more than it wins, so it's harder to maintain passionate fans.
It really hasn't. Soccer was already the first or second most played youth sport twenty years ago. MLS has grown, but it's still beaten in TV ratings by Liga MX and the Premier League, and it is much smaller than any of the biggest sports in the U.S.
@@j.d.bolick8657 he's not talking about watching the MLS hes talking about how playing football within the country has grown and I can definitely agree although it still has a lot of issues within the youth system.
@@diegoramirez7985 But the number of people playing has not grown dramatically given that it was already a top youth sport twenty years ago. In fact, it has declined in recent years.
They look at the size of the market in NA and the growth potential of the sport and they expect franchise values to increase. In North America, the money in sports seem to be made when franchises are sold and not through operations.
FIFA would be better off investing in almost any other market though. Cheaper, less competition from established sports, faster growing populations and more local interest in Africa, Asia etc.
To understand Atlanta’s valuation, you need to understand their financial situation. It’s owned partially by blank, and partially by an SIG centered around tourism in atlanta called the Georgia World Congress Authority. It’s ability to attract sponsors has been nothing short of incredible. Of all of the MLS teams, Atlanta had the highest operating profit as of 2019. Atlanta United jerseys sell like hot cakes, games pull surprisingly alright cable ratings, new TV deal and we’re well on our way to having all the tools necessary to develop into a world class team IMO
Being the center of the South and not having an MLS team for so long, I think, conditioned the potential supporters' base to be a hungry intelligent one. Like, a lot of the non-Hispanic fans probably grew up following competitive, most years enthralling, SEC football. We have an interesting dynamic of student aged supporters around town. Combined with Hispanic fans, we had, until AUFC, a wider world view of football, following UEFA, big European domestic leagues, CONMEBOL play, USA/MEX, etc. I think this was just the perfect formula for a supporters' base. The key was to run the club like a proper football club, and we did that: we have, thusly, resisted the horribly nearsighted practice of purchasing aging DPs and have invested heavily in ensuring our academy is substantial, well run, and attractive. My only hope is that the league will continue to relax cap and DP restrictions over time. My brother and my friends sometimes argue that they'll never do that because Americans love the parody in their leagues and that the lack of relegation means the only way of protecting clubs in unattractive, less lucrative locations (the ugly north) is through salary cap, but it is important to understand that, if we never raise the cap significantly, we will NEVER compete with European clubs. Which is a shame...
St. Louis City, 2023 MLS expansion team, paid $200 mil. The city is such a soccer hub in the states that the MLS viewed that as a deal. If you hate Man City, but like cities in general, look out for my St Louis City, coming 2023 👀
Great seeing a video about the MLS! Many Europeans scoff at the MLS, and yes, I'd say we're not on the not on the level of the European game that is obvious. But the MLS is doing their own thing, and has attracted so much fans and lots of interested sponsors. MLS is developing lots of talented youngsters over the last few years. It's a growing league, and an exciting one!
Whenever I watch MLS, the quality of defending is genuinely lower than in the Dutch second division. It sort of seems like they’ve kind of already done the NBA thing where defense is somewhat irrelevant
I'll say this as an American: Now is as good as ever a time for the MLS to expand. The only expansion the NFL has done is expanding the season and playoff formats. While there are grassroots movements to bring back NBA franchises to Seattle and Vancouver, the NBA has pushed back, saying they haven't found a financially compelling reason to do so.
Sometimes you got to take some risks to keep the money machine going(as you said,Bringing back the old franchises would do wonder to the NBA and get it out of it's rutt which it's stuck on.) Besides that,they also should go old-school and discourage the 3-pointers fest and the chase of useless statistics which the league became too.)
@Artizan08 You make no sense. It's one of the fastest growing leagues in the world. Are you stupid? MLS managed to build a very nice football league in a country where people still don't care about the sport. No one in the world has done a better job of starting a football league.
@@oitoitoi1 MLS is more competitive than the BIG 5 Football leagues. MLS is no way near as one of the Top 10 football leagues but winning the MLS title is harder because it's a closed league and it follows draft system and salary caps
but the quality of offense against defense is extremely apparent in MLS. e.g. you can have a Striker/Winger on USD2 Million per annum dribbling past a Centre Back earning USD200k per annum.
Yeah, that's definitely a (perhaps unintended?) side effect of the salary cap + DP rules. Since you only have limited spots to bring in quality players, you need to get players that can win you games because in order to win games, you need to score goals (obviously). Needless to say, I don't think it's a coincidence that out of all the DPs in MLS this season, only two of them are defenders.
Salary caps is a problem in the MLS it may help smaller clubs but it also means clubs usually go out and just buy wingers and strikers while not investing in Defenders. With time this wont be a problem but till MLS raises the salary cap or get rid of it it will still be the same.
@@SalviBoifrmVAThe MLS should change the current salary cap system and simplify it(ie,removal of the alloaction money,U22 intivative contracts and all that kind of things except the regular DP spots and even add one more DP spot) They should increase it significantly(to around 10 milion per team in a soft cap but any overpay above it should be extremly painful financially wise to the extent which Nobody would want to exceed the Cap and split the fines from the overpaying teams to rest of the teams which stand within the rules)
Easy: Franchise Model. There's no relegation so owning a team in MLS is inherently valuable as that team isn't going anywhere until the owner wants to.
exactly, there's basically no risk. also makes it incredibly boring to follow. came last this year? oh well try again next year and we'll give you no.1 draft picks to help you out. it's football for toddlers.
@@benjsmithproductions lol I was thinking more along the lines of the great american corporate tradition of privatising profits and socialising losses.
Such a shame comments were disabled on the LGTB of Saudi Arabia video...but seeing how many dislikes it got maybe it was for the best....since it also attracts the worst of the internet
The Lack of Pro/Rel also Maintains the Franchises Value. Crazy to believe that 5 Years ago I'm watching the Local News in Atlanta and I'm hearing 50k at a Stadium for a Futbol Game! Fast Forward a Year and I'm witnessing them win a Championship in a 73k Stadium! Atlanta is is a Powerhouse!
As a TFC fan, I have a weird relationship with Atlanta. I think it’s great that they’ve got a fantastic stadium, great fans, and will actually field good squads over the years. But yeah… I mean we’re still in the same conference and all so… I dunno? I’m suppose to hate them, but I’ve set aside all those bad vibes for RBNY, Columbus, and f**king Montreal.
Atlanta’s rise has more to do with an ownership that worked hard to not only build a good team, but build a connection with the city. They’ve invested in soccer fields in the city to get kids interested. The built a brand that they’re for the city of Atlanta. Atlanta lost the Thrashers hockey team and the Braves moved out of the city proper for the suburbs. Atlanta United help fill that vacuum
Based on the siren call of the legendary merch song, I clicked through to have a look. Unfortunately I'm not seeing any of the actual store items, just spinning 'please wait' circles where all of them should appear. Just an FYI in case something's broken.
No problem with the latest video Infact nice of you all to put a video like that But should have enabled the comments Would like the reasons of why anyone would have a problem with that
We don't need relegation in MLS. It would not benefit the competition or the entertainment. Look at the epic playoff race we're having in both conferences! It's spectacular and nail-biting.
That England v Italy game was on during the pandemic where sports were back in front of empty stadiums. It would have been like any port in a storm for someone to watch sports, any sports, that is played in front of a near full stadium. That goes to explaining why there was 59% extra fans of 'soccer' in the United States compared to 4 years prior when all sports are played in front of their normal crowds.
It's soccer without the single quotes, bud. US has adopted the game as its fifth major sport when it really could have not cared at all, so at least show some respect on how the sport is called on a video about a very specific league in a specific country.
MLS2 idea -> Only team in this tier can go Up and Down. example 2 or 4 team got promoted 1. winner can stay up 2. team that reach playoff will be play in relegated playoff with 2nd choice team. 3. team outside mls playoff will be rel auto "Just a small club -> beat giant club -> crown a champion" history
But u didn’t think about the affordability factor . An owner of a mls squad has to spend muchh less then the owner of a elp/seriea/ buli or la liga team to win the biggest trophies on offer
@@nyancat8927 yeah but it definitely plays a factor right , take the recent takeovers of inter,psg and city into account those teams had to fork out big to be competitive at the top of their respective tables , whoever takes control of a franchise in the states will no doubt be paying a fraction of that to be competitive near the top .
It's a league doing their own thing and has attracted a following because of that. No doubt MLS investors has seen all those debt ridden clubs in England and Serie A and vowed to not let US clubs experience that. Now they're slowly developing into nice place for young talent. Guys like Busio and Aaronson looks great for their clubs respectively.
Its not waht they are doing on the field that brings in the money. Its their ownership in SUM that has control over US soccer. You remove sum. These teams are operating differently.
@@oc911 If that's the case then why is the NBA the most watched basketball league in the world when they have no relegation or promotion? Why are the MLB and NFL constantly getting good ratings abroad when they share that same league structure?
@@anthonyjudeaggabao2302 because there are no compatible leagues of similar quality outside of US, duh, the NBA is simply the biggest league in the world so is the NFL. When we have the top 5 European leagues and the UCL, why would anyone have any care for MLS with it's heartless soulless franchises. The stunt that American business men pulled when they bought Wimbledon a 100 year old team and then moved it to Milton Keynes, simply because Milton Keynes had a greater market has made every English football fan hate the American system.
The reality is MLS clubs are super valuable not because of "North American sports capitalism", but because they are organized in a socialist structure. They share expansion fees, profits, expenses and have a draft for new players coming from college. If a team gets into financial trouble, the league will prop them up or buy them out. The risk is super low for owners and the reward is HUGE. The fact that only a few of the 27 teams actually turn a profit shows this. The secondary factor is that the US has tons of real rich people with money to burn...I mean invest.
The giant risk part occurred back in 2001-2002; most of the investors in the league up to that point walked away with total losses of everything they had put in, and the remaining three considered folding the league up entirely.
Today July 8, Neil Young has released a new album. The song “Gateway to Love” made me want to buy “Tifo merch, come in and buy what you looking for, Tifo merch”
@@BrendanP I agreed. It may be confusing at first, but once you study it it's not all that complicated. For example my parents are immigrants to the US so the game of American football just was a foreign concept to them. Little by little, by just watching the game, I started to slowly pick it up. I don't fully understand the game (i.e. various formations on offense and defense) but definitely understand the basics of it to not be lost.
Obviously the MLS is not struggling financially. But how are you defining success? The quality of games is mostly terrible for anyone that watches the European Leagues so on that front, not successful at all
Agreed. The obsession with pro-reg and its arguments for it just isn't holding up as time goes on. If MLS does rise to the level of, say, Portuguese Liga or Brazilian Serie A, then it further proves that the feature of pro-reg is not necessary to form a competitive league.
@@JamesCM86 Given the league is relatively young in a country that historically isn't rich with history of the sport, so therefore tactics are behind, it's premature to say that it's been a failure. Each year the quality on the field is getting better. To expect it to reach the quality of Europe within a generation is a standard that's rather absurd. On almost front if we judge it fairly the MLS is succeeding. Quality of product is slowly getting better. Academies are producing decent talent. Ticket prices aren't too expensive. Attendance is steadily rising. More clubs are being created in expansion.
Quick and entertaining is a stretch. It can be entertaining, but it's usually for the wrong reasons. Another distinguishing mark of MLS is how it is not very quick (i.e., slow). If it seems to be quick it rarely lasts more than a few seconds, and if it does, you've probably (i.e., most definitely) hit the 1.5x speed button.
Football is actually quite popular here in the US, and it’s getting more exposure. Our USWNT is VERY popular, and we are watching our young USMNT with anticipation. Even our cities that are vying for hosting 2026 matches is getting heated, it almost looks like a school yard brawl.
@@oitoitoi1 What are you talking about?? Have you ever heard of Title IX? It’s the direct root cause of all the gold medals and championships American women and girls have.
@@kristi4113 yet there is no following for wnba, I've never even heard of womens professional american football, ice hockey or baseball. Football seems to be the only team sport where title IX made any difference at all.
@@oitoitoi1 Do your research on my country before you speak to me about it. There ARE teams for American sports for females, and why are you bringing this up? What backwoods, misogynistic place are you from? Clearly somewhere that thinks women should be seen and not heard, right? You might wanna skip coming to 2026 in person.
It always has been quick and entertaining, it’s constant counter football, there is always something happening on the field. More enjoyable than Eredivisie and Serie A. Both are too tactical and boring to look at
I’d like to see a comparison between Japan’s J-League and MLS. They both formed around the same time but went different paths. I feel with the J-League, it setup a better approach for youth systems all the way up to professional J-1. The fan base is remarkable as well.
The big advantages MLS has over leagues in Japan, Australia, or others formed around the same time are having more very large cities and more potential viewers overall.
Eurosnobs in the comments: “MLS fans don’t know what it’s like to be real supporters. Only true fans would know that you support your hometown team regardless of how competitive they are. There are traditions you’ll never understand.” Also Eurosnobs in the comments: “What are you doing supporting your hometown team?! Why don’t you switch to a better team?! What do you mean you’ve created your own traditions?!”
I think it's a great case study of why Ultimate Team players could never become real managers. You cant just slam 4 or 5 World Class attackers into a team and automatically win games.
Before I've watched the video, I'd say that part of it could be the lack of relegation. MLS teams are guaranteed to be in the top league, unlike Newcastle or West Ham.
MLS and relegation do not mix. The lower leagues are too weak, and the playoff structure we have is thriving. Look right now, the race for the playoffs is crazy intense!
American sports model will not allow pro-rel because In American leagues the revenue is evenly shared amongst all teams, & Leagues are already divided into divisions
@@channelname6486 i agree with this. Europeans and South Americans must let Americans and Australians call the sport as Soccer because Americans have a sport what they call Football and Australians also have a different sports called Football
it's not more successful than any other videos on mainstream topics (sub coach being the exception because it's a tiny team doing something only a particular kind of football fans will care about)
@@MarcusWayne12 I think on UA-cam India is a bigger market. But I was responding to your claim that thsi video is proof they should do more about it. Which it isn't.
@@mnm1273 yeah but how is the league in India doing? My point is that, for a channel covering the sport, doing more coverage of a rapidly growing league in the *most influential* media market in the world might be a decent way to get eyeballs on the channel. It's not hard to follow.
@@MarcusWayne12 What you said was that this video was a proof of your argument. Which it isn't. That gives you're not even trying to argue it was nothing short of a lie. I'll repeat the fact that India is the largest media market (its football league is irrelevant). Your statement that he MLS brings more views is obviously wrong when you compare its views to broad topic videos on the channel. Because the MLS is only really major to a single country (why watch a mediocre league in a country with no history). It's also not that popular within the US, because football isn't popular in the US and the MLS isn't the most popular league (Prem viewership at least matches). If anything you said was true you wouldn't need to lie through your teeth (saying this video was proof, then pretending you didn't, then claiming the US is the biggest media market).
Its always extremely interesting that when the topic of Pro/Rel is brought up and people (mostly EU) complain that MLS doesnt have it, usually never complain about the Australian A League following the same model. Everyone is so up in arms about MLS. "People who say I dont care about MLS" clearly most times do because it doesnt follow a 100+ year old league model. MLS is a relatively baby league compared to the top 5. People who complain that MLS doesnt follow the EU schedule, well so do a bunch of leagues around the world but why are they never brought up? Compare MLS to league outside the top 5 and almost in every occasion MLS is a way better league.
Honestly, I think for some there is a definitely feeling of sour grapes. I’m not saying about the quality of players and coaching and all that, but for many MLS fans, we got in at the ground level, right? They’re singing the songs that their dads sang and wearing the colours that were gender down, but they didn’t actually get a chance to take part in creating anything. Because MLS is still a relatively young league, traditions are being made by the fans here and now. We’re helping create the songs and picking the colours and names. I remember during the first few seasons with TFC going to meetings with the club as a representative of my Supporter Group. Myself and many others had a good deal of input that we know the club listened to. And TFC wasn’t the only MLS club to do that, either. The Supporters and fans have always had the ear of clubs and the league. So yeah, I lived in the UK and followed both my local SPL club and often flew down to watch EPL games and I absolutely love the traditions and everything associated with the game there, but now living back here, it’s even a bit better to know your helping build the sport and creating new traditions too.
They will not, until they get rid of the Absurd " pay to play " system. Also pro-rel should be considered but theses franchises owners will not tolerate it so...Maybe wait a couple decades
"55% of US watchers of the EPL were 45 years old or younger" seems around about entirely what I would expect, given the median age of the US population is about 40.
Despite our hyper capitalist culture, when it comes to sports it doesn’t match up. There’s no incentive for teams to actually perform well, the worst teams actually get rewarded with draft picks, the teams all pool their money collectively, etc. only capitalist aspect is the rich owners get richer while “fans” are just customers
What do you mean there’s no incentive for teams to do well? Every single team wants to make the playoffs. If you don’t make the playoffs, that’s a failure. And you do things that are within the rules to build towards that. What makes you think ANY team wants to purposely lose?
Soccer in this country is such a speculative market. Prices are increasing without TV viewership increasing and I'm not sure they will realize their high prices any time soon.
tifo merch song at 3 a.m. hit different
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
sounds like they're talking to you personally
@@bababunmiadekunlefashola1965 omds yesddd
Merchandiiiise
Reminds me of Eric Cartman somehow
How do you guys feel about an updated video on James Rodriguez? How has 2014's World Cup Golden Boot winner (and former La Liga Best Midfielder) ended up dropping down to the Qatari league at just 30? Could be interesting?
Money?
He was always overrated and doesn’t really fit in the new systems who discard number tens. Plus , when he did that World Cup, he was warming the bench at Monaco. Real splashed out 80 million on an injury prone player, just for marketing reasons in South America pretty much. It inflated the market, as it was pre neymar transfer. Let’s be real , you splash out that much money on the basis of four games in a World Cup where everything can happen? It was destined to be a failure, and obviously it was. Good player, just not at the level everyone expected, just because of a screamer.
@@sathya_narayanan So true! He didn't believe he should work for his place in the starting eleven. "I'm being paid so much, money, I should be starting every match." He wrecked his new car. Too much money, too fast! Another great signing for Los Blancos 👏👏👏👏👏
One reason is surely that the classical number ten, of which james, besides Özil and others is a prime example, is no longer needed in most teams' tactical approach.
Another one is that he was not realy able to adapt to that
And probably he is one of those players who have a lot of talent but not the mind/grind set to work for staying at the top
@@markusz4447 That's for sure!!
That bald eagle with the flag and uniform is an absolute masterpiece. Whoever drew that needs a raise.
Man I love the "Tifo Merch Song", I literally wait for it every episode just as good as the 1 million subs
Would you guys make a video on Australia’s A-League? Either on the type of football played or the proposed promotion-relegation system?
I second this
Yeah we need a video on the Australian league system
What is the proposed system? Is it creating new franchises or promoting npl clubs?
I wouldn't mind seeing this.
No disrespect but Australian football is a joke. Poor crowds, poor quality, destination for 35 year old mid tier players. Nothing exciting or worth caring about.
Short answer : Because it's a franchise league.
Yep, they are basically just money printing machines
All leagues in the USA are like that.
@@carlossaldana8791 That's what makes the MLS unique, stable, and competitive. I wish Europeans would understand that, because there's a hesitation from them to embrace the MLS. Some are like that, not all. I mean, we in North America love the European game just as much, sometimes more. Why can't they do the same?
@@BrendanP It's because your entire sports system (and everything about your country) is fake, artificially created. As for why people would not want to watch the MLS, maybe it's the standard of football and complete lack of history and culture. You cannot just invent teams by creating and selling franchises and expect people outside to care.
@@BrendanP nope. No genuine football fans would buy into a system where there’s not relegation. Places are earned, not entitled.
Would love more MLS videos! Some ideas: The insane home field advantage/away game ppg in MLS compared to other top football leagues, Save the Crew, FC Cincy's catastrophic first three seasons which include a wooden spoon three-peat, A general video on all the new stadiums that have popped up over the last number of years and what that means for the league, MLS Cup vs Supporters Shield, etc etc
The more MLS, the better!
Yes please
Supporters shield a pointless trophy now :( they need to rethink it so it is fair for teams of both leagues
Also home field advantage is a thing in almost all American sports. Traveling several hours across many time zones affects almost all athletes negatively
Save the Crew is an important story that needs to be heard, especially by those who are convinced MLS doesn't have fan culture.
Home field advantage is due to crazy travel distances. Teams in Europe usually just hop on a bus for a couple of hours.
One factor that was hinted at but not stated outright is when you buy an MLS club, it STAYS in MLS. Leagues in other countries have the promotion-relegation thing which does not exist in the US soccer scheme.
It will be interesting to see how the next MLS TV negotiations go. The valuations seem to be a bet that the next tv contract will produce a windfall for the franchise owners. While it will surely increase from $90M per year, what will it end up being? It seems like the highest rated domestic broadcasts are on Spanish language channels.
Actually, the valuations are a bet on SUM. Which is going to make them a massive amount of money in 2025 & 2026. Even with the tie to the USSF technically severed.
the NFL's new media contract starting in 2023 is more than $110 billion for 11 years that is more than 11 times the value of the current MLS media contracts, it seems that either the MLS is undervalued or the NFL is overvalued.
Ik this is from 7 months ago but whats your opinion on the new deal? Apple 2.5 billion dollars.
@@augustliberty3683 I'm not sure. Getting at least $250M a year is good. At minimum, it should make it easier for all the teams to attract high quality players, either DPs or high end TAM guys. Idk that locking in a 10 year deal on a platform that soccer fans currently know best for Ted Lasso is good. I would have preferred ESPN or peacock and I will miss the local broadcasters if they aren't used in the future.
@@marcchristopher856 The product is good so far and Apple is retaining local broadcasters and select games will be on other sport networks
There’s missing information that Europeans don’t get:
To ensure that small market clubs (with less funds) are financially afloat, there’s a salary cap, trades are more frequent, and draft picks for young talent. This is what you see in the NBA and NFL. This prevents top clubs from simply hoarding all the young talent and loan them out for a profit. Like Chelsea for example.
So imagine if a English club in league 2 gets an 18 year old Messi? If top clubs want to trade for Messi, they have to give up their 5+ future draft picks so they can’t sign young players in the future.
If you spend over the cap, you pay a tax for every million dollar you spend over the cap limit. I think the tax goes to charity if I’m not mistaken
The draft should be abolished. Soccer has the largest player pool being an international sport. They can go find the talent. And if a club has an 18 year old messi. You dont trade for draft picks. You sellhim on the open market, not in your league. This is how the actual businessin soccer is done
@@freeisalwaysme You obviously don't understand it. MLS teams could sell their young talents on the world transfer market. But if a another MLS team wants to buy that "18 yr messi" they have to give up future draft picks to ensure no one team can sign contracts with all of the best young players and make the league uncompetitive. MLS teams don't depend on the draft since they have academies but the draft is a opportunity to the Show (first division) for those college players who either wanted to complete school first or players who didn't have the opportunity to join a MLS academy.
@@freeisalwaysme I don’t like the business model in Europe, I don’t want there to be a Bayern in MLS.
@@NeonLeonNoel it's on the other teams to get better then. There's no need for businesses to have their hands held.
@@atomicfart91 you proved my point. It's better to sell and bring in revenue. Then worthless draft picks that accomplish nothing in your own league.
Can y'all make a video on the Japanese football league? Thank you for the great content.
Agree! Indeed the interaction between the Japanese league and the Korean league is quite interesting. J League is so much more commercially successful and has a sustainable fanbase, yet its teams are consistently outperformed by K League teams in the AFC Champions League. Some says it’s because the prize money from J League is much more attractive than that from the ACL. It would be great if Tifo can take a look at it!!!
Yes please!
@@jonathanip7882 Well if Vissel Kobe isn't representing the league in the ACL finals it wouldn't be otherwise.
Lots of fixing in the J league, lots of cultural politics within each team's management. That's why every decent japanese player play overseas. Look up the story of Kazuyoshi Miura, the guy is still playing now at the age of 54, while he can't even run which is embarrassing. Pretty much a nutshell of japan society and the J league.
i like MLS recruitment. A lot of teams sign players from South America or European lower leagues for very cheap or on loans and they can really shine in the MLS .
Yeah it’s done a great way getting away from the retirement stereotype and while there still might be a aging star or two the majority really isn’t anymore
@@hunterdvs6535 but those youngsters are the rejects who European scouts didn't want.
@@oitoitoi1 thiago almada was good enough to make the Argentina national team for the world cup but in supposed to believe europe didnt want him
@@hunterdvs6535 he's really young, he'll go to Europe soon enough if he's good enough. If he stays in the mls he won't develop as the standard of defence is garbage, was a poor decision for his career.
I don’t think worsening the product is actually a problem. The thing with football is that it has the largest playing base of any sport in the world so theoretically if they league keeps signing more foreign players the can keep the standard the same or even improve it if they keep adding players
*they
Yep, and it is 55% foreign. However the beauty of this time is that the reliance in imports does not impede academy products. Almost all homegrown players are u25, but even a 17 y/o academy player with professional potential is going to be more worthwhile than a 22 y/o from college. Young players provide depth at the very least and often have greater potential than the older players who were less fortunate to go through an inferior pathway.
Release the song separately, so I can add it to my youtube music playlist
2 of the most valuable us clubs are a few years old that is wild.
Not that old. Atlanta United has been around for years, but they've only just paid the MLS franchising fee to make the jump from the NASL to MLS.
@Papa Smurf yup, we were founded in 2014 but only started playing in 2017
its the market, Los Angeles and Atlanta > Newcastle
@@Ky-tl8ps this aged well.
because no relegation, and massive speculation in those values. they'll collapse eventually when growth plateaus and football is still the US's 6th sport or something.
MLS! SOCCAH! FIELD! CLEATS! PK'S! JERSEYS!
But seriously MLS is majestic. You can have an amazing volley by a centerback one minute and the worst defensive error the next by the same player. Plus the team's social media admins are unhinged and I love it
MLS is a weird and wonderful secret. Keep MLS weird.
That's why I love it so much. Is MLS the best league? No. But it is insanely fun and let's me watch soccer without having to get up at 4 in the morning
@@1lostmuffin *? Yes.
Hilarious comment and pfp.
Cringe
My own theory is a lot of the valuations are speculation that there will be more revenue in the future. It's as if they are factoring in the likely increase in revenue a better TV contract will generate as well as a post World Cup boost up in a few years. I would be interested to see valuations a few years after the World Cup in 2026 to see if these projections are justified or wishful thinking.
7:20 Last time I listened to this it literally didn't leave my head for days. Can't let that happen again...
Beckham’s contract that gave him a team for $25 mil will go down as one of the greatest sports deals in history.
That last "merchandiseeeeeeeeeee" speaks to me
Europe’s top leagues have been trying SUPER hard to get the US to start watching football over the past 5 years, and it has completely worked. I’ve been telling my friends for the past couple years that football will take over baseball’s spot as the US’ third most popular sport within the next 10 years. I didn’t watch football before a couple years ago because I didn’t understand it and never gave it a real shot. After watching the Prem during COVID I realized it was super fun to watch, even without fans, then when fans came back it was awesome. The same way football is almost taboo in the US, I know for a fact American sports are taboo in Europe. You should give American football, but more importantly, basketball a chance. As an American I like basketball more and it’s literally just a 5 a side street ball game but people use their hands instead of feet. Super entertaining. Give basketball a shot, not to mention the 2 best players in the NBA right now are both European, one from Greece and one from Slovenia.
Isn’t basketball huge in Europe, a lot of football clubs have a basketball counterpart
MLS selling out a NFL stadium is amazing and the most telling sign. I don't think people outside the US realize how big of a deal that is.
I do... it's simply crazy congrats to USA for beginning to broaden horizons
@@icrackfofun Broaden horizons? Excuse me? We're a country that love sports in general. Last time I heard we have four professional leagues in regards to four different sports - MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL. Add in the MLS and now MLR (rugby). If anything, what the USA is doing is completely natural to its core: accepting other foreign products and appreciating it, even if it may take some time. I can't say that for the rest of the world. (Japan has been the exception.)
@@TickleMeElmo55 hello, i agree with you. For example portugal (where i am from) is football and not much else (although this is changing)... But my point is mls franchises are expensive solely because of THE AMERICAN MARKET driving it... The league is objectively not great and no one in europe really cares about it.
My point is this: If each country in europe had an economy as great as the USA, almost every league would be worth 10 to 20 times more. The franchise is expensive because well... It is THE american football league, despite it being objectively uncompetitive
@@TickleMeElmo55 no other countries care about those leagues apart from america
@@epic9748 Canada is part of all those leagues except NFL which is still super popular here , we care and I believe Mexicans also watch quite a bit of NBA and NFL.
Look MLS isn’t bright and glamorous, but it has its own charm. Outlandish goals get scored week after week. And the league is only getting better season after season.
I agree! We're not on European levels, but the MLS does things their own way and does things right for the league!
Its been great this year
This man gets it
It's fun, that's why I like it
I’ve followed the sport for 6 years, I used to support an English club because I had no other alternative, I still support them although not as diligently. Once Atlanta United came to town it showed so many people what the sport can be. It showed how it can be entertaining. American perception of soccer is stuck at it being a boring game played by kids, and super talented Europeans. But with the recent explosion in the MLS, as well as the 2026 World Cup, I think the sport is looking pretty good over here
“Soccer appeals to the US’ growing Latin American population” which is weird considering outside of a few traditional metro area most of MLS’ franchises are in cities that don’t have large Hispanic population. It’s basically the two older Texas teams, LA, and Miami. And no actually goes to see the Miami team like every other pro franchise in that city that isn’t the heat or dolphins.
Atlanta is mostly black and white but they are very popular. and Cincinnati is very popular for a city of its size and it’s also mostly black and white. People from outside the US and Canada often think this demographic shift is more important than it actually is
There are many new Europeans in USA so thats also that, like Pulisic, he's grandfather was born in Croatia
@@Macar14 If you could build an 11 from naturally born players, we'd be competitive. But most play in Europe instead. Mainly cause money.
@@hobinrood710 and level of competition, for sure
@@Macar14 Yep. That's because the money though. People aren't gonna pay for half assed sports.
See WNBA.
Tifo needs to do a "Why Should I Care About the MLS" video.
Trust me, they can come up with tons of answers. MLS is truly intriguing if you look at it closely
@@3dsaulgoodman43 a league with no relegation will always be stale compared to ones with a full range of competition.
@@mnm1273 To a certain extent as it doesn't motivate the bottom feeders, but its worked well for the NBA, MLB, and mostly the NFL.
@@terrywho22 Except all those sports are less popular than football (soccer) and the leagues that do it have a near monopoly on the sport (as they are the singular league in a country where it's most popular).
@@3dsaulgoodman43 To me, the most interesting thing is this potential partnership with Liga MX. Maybe a big reason for the recent rapid growth in value of the MLS clubs.
The salary cap makes a huge difference. Also control over ownership.
The Premiership may be 100 times more popular, but big clubs can’t make a profit if they’re trying to compete with oil money teams who are happy to lose money.
Seems like you got a problem with Arabs
Being in the lower half of a Big 5 league is not very secure. Got to overspend to keep your spot, and your team still loses a lot more than it wins, so it's harder to maintain passionate fans.
Broh soccer/football has increased here in the USA so much in the last 20 years .. literally went from a strange sport to the new hot thing .
It really hasn't. Soccer was already the first or second most played youth sport twenty years ago. MLS has grown, but it's still beaten in TV ratings by Liga MX and the Premier League, and it is much smaller than any of the biggest sports in the U.S.
@@j.d.bolick8657 he's not talking about watching the MLS hes talking about how playing football within the country has grown and I can definitely agree although it still has a lot of issues within the youth system.
@@diegoramirez7985 But the number of people playing has not grown dramatically given that it was already a top youth sport twenty years ago. In fact, it has declined in recent years.
and after the world cup in 26 it will probably the biggest sport in the states.
@@alinrajbhandari9257 It won't even be the third biggest.
They look at the size of the market in NA and the growth potential of the sport and they expect franchise values to increase.
In North America, the money in sports seem to be made when franchises are sold and not through operations.
Like the share market then
FIFA would be better off investing in almost any other market though. Cheaper, less competition from established sports, faster growing populations and more local interest in Africa, Asia etc.
Could you guys do a video on Ricardo Quaresma?
Football is a really fun sports so growth is bound to happen.
To understand Atlanta’s valuation, you need to understand their financial situation. It’s owned partially by blank, and partially by an SIG centered around tourism in atlanta called the Georgia World Congress Authority. It’s ability to attract sponsors has been nothing short of incredible. Of all of the MLS teams, Atlanta had the highest operating profit as of 2019. Atlanta United jerseys sell like hot cakes, games pull surprisingly alright cable ratings, new TV deal and we’re well on our way to having all the tools necessary to develop into a world class team IMO
Being the center of the South and not having an MLS team for so long, I think, conditioned the potential supporters' base to be a hungry intelligent one. Like, a lot of the non-Hispanic fans probably grew up following competitive, most years enthralling, SEC football. We have an interesting dynamic of student aged supporters around town. Combined with Hispanic fans, we had, until AUFC, a wider world view of football, following UEFA, big European domestic leagues, CONMEBOL play, USA/MEX, etc. I think this was just the perfect formula for a supporters' base. The key was to run the club like a proper football club, and we did that: we have, thusly, resisted the horribly nearsighted practice of purchasing aging DPs and have invested heavily in ensuring our academy is substantial, well run, and attractive.
My only hope is that the league will continue to relax cap and DP restrictions over time. My brother and my friends sometimes argue that they'll never do that because Americans love the parody in their leagues and that the lack of relegation means the only way of protecting clubs in unattractive, less lucrative locations (the ugly north) is through salary cap, but it is important to understand that, if we never raise the cap significantly, we will NEVER compete with European clubs. Which is a shame...
You mean Arthur Blank?
@@whosaidthat84 yeah, he owns a majority stake in the falcons and united
St. Louis City, 2023 MLS expansion team, paid $200 mil. The city is such a soccer hub in the states that the MLS viewed that as a deal. If you hate Man City, but like cities in general, look out for my St Louis City, coming 2023 👀
I was looking for someone to talk about SLCFC. Can't wait for the 2023 season.
@@mattkemper8485 let’s go - is there a Reddit or something? Do you know?
Great seeing a video about the MLS! Many Europeans scoff at the MLS, and yes, I'd say we're not on the not on the level of the European game that is obvious. But the MLS is doing their own thing, and has attracted so much fans and lots of interested sponsors. MLS is developing lots of talented youngsters over the last few years. It's a growing league, and an exciting one!
Not that much talent. Theres been like 7 players that have been capable of competing in the top 5 leagues
@@TradingLemon And there's more on the way!
Whenever I watch MLS, the quality of defending is genuinely lower than in the Dutch second division. It sort of seems like they’ve kind of already done the NBA thing where defense is somewhat irrelevant
@@regulatorsmountup4931 The MLS is like track and field, run up and down the pitch. It's different but good in it's own way.
@@BrendanP lol that's not good.
Every video you guys make is amazing, keep it up!
I'll say this as an American: Now is as good as ever a time for the MLS to expand. The only expansion the NFL has done is expanding the season and playoff formats. While there are grassroots movements to bring back NBA franchises to Seattle and Vancouver, the NBA has pushed back, saying they haven't found a financially compelling reason to do so.
Sometimes you got to take some risks to keep the money machine going(as you said,Bringing back the old franchises would do wonder to the NBA and get it out of it's rutt which it's stuck on.)
Besides that,they also should go old-school and discourage the 3-pointers fest and the chase of useless statistics which the league became too.)
Bro is it just me or did all the vfx seem super smooth in this vid?
3:28 accidental swastika?
No Pro/Rel. That's why our clubs can become so valuable so fast.
it's also why no one cares about the mls.
@Artizan08 You make no sense. It's one of the fastest growing leagues in the world. Are you stupid? MLS managed to build a very nice football league in a country where people still don't care about the sport. No one in the world has done a better job of starting a football league.
@@oitoitoi1
MLS is more competitive than the BIG 5 Football leagues. MLS is no way near as one of the Top 10 football leagues but winning the MLS title is harder because it's a closed league and it follows draft system and salary caps
but the quality of offense against defense is extremely apparent in MLS. e.g. you can have a Striker/Winger on USD2 Million per annum dribbling past a Centre Back earning USD200k per annum.
Yeah, that's definitely a (perhaps unintended?) side effect of the salary cap + DP rules. Since you only have limited spots to bring in quality players, you need to get players that can win you games because in order to win games, you need to score goals (obviously).
Needless to say, I don't think it's a coincidence that out of all the DPs in MLS this season, only two of them are defenders.
Salary caps is a problem in the MLS it may help smaller clubs but it also means clubs usually go out and just buy wingers and strikers while not investing in Defenders. With time this wont be a problem but till MLS raises the salary cap or get rid of it it will still be the same.
@@SalviBoifrmVAThe MLS should change the current salary cap system and simplify it(ie,removal of the alloaction money,U22 intivative contracts and all that kind of things except the regular DP spots and even add one more DP spot)
They should increase it significantly(to around 10 milion per team in a soft cap but any overpay above it should be extremly painful financially wise to the extent which Nobody would want to exceed the Cap and split the fines from the overpaying teams to rest of the teams which stand within the rules)
Easy: Franchise Model. There's no relegation so owning a team in MLS is inherently valuable as that team isn't going anywhere until the owner wants to.
exactly, there's basically no risk. also makes it incredibly boring to follow. came last this year? oh well try again next year and we'll give you no.1 draft picks to help you out. it's football for toddlers.
@@oitoitoi1 It's so normal we see it as a virtue, coded to the American Optimistic attitude..... "There's Always Next Year."
@@benjsmithproductions lol I was thinking more along the lines of the great american corporate tradition of privatising profits and socialising losses.
Such a shame comments were disabled on the LGTB of Saudi Arabia video...but seeing how many dislikes it got maybe it was for the best....since it also attracts the worst of the internet
90% of comments would just be hate speech if they kept it up
You have a svastika forming from US flags at 3:30
The Lack of Pro/Rel also Maintains the Franchises Value. Crazy to believe that 5 Years ago I'm watching the Local News in Atlanta and I'm hearing 50k at a Stadium for a Futbol Game! Fast Forward a Year and I'm witnessing them win a Championship in a 73k Stadium! Atlanta is is a Powerhouse!
As a TFC fan, I have a weird relationship with Atlanta. I think it’s great that they’ve got a fantastic stadium, great fans, and will actually field good squads over the years.
But yeah… I mean we’re still in the same conference and all so… I dunno? I’m suppose to hate them, but I’ve set aside all those bad vibes for RBNY, Columbus, and f**king Montreal.
Atlanta’s rise has more to do with an ownership that worked hard to not only build a good team, but build a connection with the city. They’ve invested in soccer fields in the city to get kids interested. The built a brand that they’re for the city of Atlanta. Atlanta lost the Thrashers hockey team and the Braves moved out of the city proper for the suburbs. Atlanta United help fill that vacuum
Based on the siren call of the legendary merch song, I clicked through to have a look. Unfortunately I'm not seeing any of the actual store items, just spinning 'please wait' circles where all of them should appear. Just an FYI in case something's broken.
I enjoy going to Whitecaps matches but the football really is tough to watch at times.
Still passion mate, nice to see Canadians getting into the game
Sartini has changed things around for the better. Hope he gets the job and they remove the interim tag. Whitecaps are exciting to watch again!
@Channel Name I was born in Cork and moved to Canada when I was 9, so I say it naturally, not out of some shameful reactionary response.
Because of that beautiful song at the end of the video I'll gladly purchase some merchandise.
Would you please make a video about the Chinese Super League
that would be fascinating.
MLS teams are not franchises per say, they're owned cooperatively by all the MLS owners I believe.
No problem with the latest video
Infact nice of you all to put a video like that
But should have enabled the comments
Would like the reasons of why anyone would have a problem with that
Yeah I’d really like to see why talking about violations of human right is such a problem
And how about a video on Spalletti and Napoli and how he has turned.this team around so quickly so far??
Lol I thought you said spaghetti but was not surprised as Napoli’s an Italian team haha
Must be so relaxing knowing that there's no relegation...
We don't need relegation in MLS. It would not benefit the competition or the entertainment. Look at the epic playoff race we're having in both conferences! It's spectacular and nail-biting.
@@BrendanP Right..
@@genri.a9128 Yes I am
@@BrendanP nice joke
@@BrendanP lol
That England v Italy game was on during the pandemic where sports were back in front of empty stadiums. It would have been like any port in a storm for someone to watch sports, any sports, that is played in front of a near full stadium. That goes to explaining why there was 59% extra fans of 'soccer' in the United States compared to 4 years prior when all sports are played in front of their normal crowds.
It's soccer without the single quotes, bud. US has adopted the game as its fifth major sport when it really could have not cared at all, so at least show some respect on how the sport is called on a video about a very specific league in a specific country.
MLS2 idea -> Only team in this tier can go Up and Down.
example 2 or 4 team got promoted
1. winner can stay up
2. team that reach playoff will be play in relegated playoff with 2nd choice team.
3. team outside mls playoff will be rel auto
"Just a small club -> beat giant club -> crown a champion" history
Pro Rel doesn’t work in American Sports
Ok but that song at the end absolutely slaps.
But u didn’t think about the affordability factor . An owner of a mls squad has to spend muchh less then the owner of a elp/seriea/ buli or la liga team to win the biggest trophies on offer
the question here was: Why are MLS teams so expensive to take full ownership of?
@@nyancat8927 yes but operating them is a whole different story . Makes up for the initial price
@@sudnnk5138 i see where you are coming from, just trying to explain why they weren't accounting operating costs
@@nyancat8927 yeah but it definitely plays a factor right , take the recent takeovers of inter,psg and city into account those teams had to fork out big to be competitive at the top of their respective tables , whoever takes control of a franchise in the states will no doubt be paying a fraction of that to be competitive near the top .
@@sudnnk5138 of course, no denial in that
Can you make a video on why NYCFC still doesn't have a stadium?
We need more MLS content. Go Houston Dynamo!
I one day dream of an in depth piece, probably by the Athletic, of how the Dynamo went from being a league powerhouse to a laughing stock.
DALE DYNAMO 🍊
Brand New MLS video out now on our channel! 🇺🇸 ~ The Top 10 MLS Kits from 1996! ~ Check it out! 🎥😃👍
Didn't expect that ending at all... Totally knocked me out.
😂😂 Love Tifo. Joe is a genius. How does he come up with this stuff?
Joe doesn't write these. He's just the narrator
gods...this merch song is going to stuck inside my head for years....if not forever
1:25 if ur talking about the mls those numbers make sense but the nfl averages 66,000 per game and that was at is lowest in awhile
Wow that merchandise song made our day!!!
It's a league doing their own thing and has attracted a following because of that. No doubt MLS investors has seen all those debt ridden clubs in England and Serie A and vowed to not let US clubs experience that. Now they're slowly developing into nice place for young talent. Guys like Busio and Aaronson looks great for their clubs respectively.
Exactly! This is what makes MLS great. Many Europeans snobbishly don't give MLS a chance.
@@BrendanP because no one outside the US would have interest in a league where there is no relegation or promotion.
Its not waht they are doing on the field that brings in the money. Its their ownership in SUM that has control over US soccer. You remove sum. These teams are operating differently.
@@oc911 If that's the case then why is the NBA the most watched basketball league in the world when they have no relegation or promotion? Why are the MLB and NFL constantly getting good ratings abroad when they share that same league structure?
@@anthonyjudeaggabao2302 because there are no compatible leagues of similar quality outside of US, duh, the NBA is simply the biggest league in the world so is the NFL. When we have the top 5 European leagues and the UCL, why would anyone have any care for MLS with it's heartless soulless franchises. The stunt that American business men pulled when they bought Wimbledon a 100 year old team and then moved it to Milton Keynes, simply because Milton Keynes had a greater market has made every English football fan hate the American system.
3:27 flag in the middle ?!? guess thats not on purpose 😂😂🤣🤣
The reality is MLS clubs are super valuable not because of "North American sports capitalism", but because they are organized in a socialist structure. They share expansion fees, profits, expenses and have a draft for new players coming from college. If a team gets into financial trouble, the league will prop them up or buy them out. The risk is super low for owners and the reward is HUGE. The fact that only a few of the 27 teams actually turn a profit shows this. The secondary factor is that the US has tons of real rich people with money to burn...I mean invest.
It’s socialism for the elite capitalists.
The giant risk part occurred back in 2001-2002; most of the investors in the league up to that point walked away with total losses of everything they had put in, and the remaining three considered folding the league up entirely.
Today July 8, Neil Young has released a new album. The song “Gateway to Love” made me want to buy “Tifo merch, come in and buy what you looking for, Tifo merch”
West Ham is worth £700m based on the value of the proposed Kretinsky minority stake
Didn't they just get bought out by this mega billionaire group?
Value of LAFC is higher than both Inter and AC Milan! Wow!!
West Ham’s valuation is more like £650 million. Kretinski is considering a 27% stake at £180 million.
What every he pays sets the Valuation doesn't it?
@@jacquesmassard9226 not necessarily. In the short term it is the comparable with which investors would extrapolate to generate their valuations.
Rapids in last, lmao
Great job Kroenke!
Only Tifo can make the byzantine structure of the MLS actually make sense. Great job, guys!
Also the kit for the eagle at 5:01 is genius. Kudos to the graphics team.
I fail to see how the MLS is an "excessively complicated" league as you're suggesting.
@@BrendanP I agreed. It may be confusing at first, but once you study it it's not all that complicated. For example my parents are immigrants to the US so the game of American football just was a foreign concept to them. Little by little, by just watching the game, I started to slowly pick it up. I don't fully understand the game (i.e. various formations on offense and defense) but definitely understand the basics of it to not be lost.
maybe because america as a whole is not tapped into fully so the potential for upside is massive + no relegation means no real risks
“MLS needs relegation to succeed” -Everyone who’s never watched a second of MLS
what do u mean?
Obviously the MLS is not struggling financially. But how are you defining success? The quality of games is mostly terrible for anyone that watches the European Leagues so on that front, not successful at all
Agreed. The obsession with pro-reg and its arguments for it just isn't holding up as time goes on. If MLS does rise to the level of, say, Portuguese Liga or Brazilian Serie A, then it further proves that the feature of pro-reg is not necessary to form a competitive league.
@@JamesCM86 Given the league is relatively young in a country that historically isn't rich with history of the sport, so therefore tactics are behind, it's premature to say that it's been a failure. Each year the quality on the field is getting better. To expect it to reach the quality of Europe within a generation is a standard that's rather absurd.
On almost front if we judge it fairly the MLS is succeeding. Quality of product is slowly getting better. Academies are producing decent talent. Ticket prices aren't too expensive. Attendance is steadily rising. More clubs are being created in expansion.
yeah once you've watched it you know it will never succeed lol.
I want a Delaware Thunderquake jersey now!
Quick and entertaining is a stretch. It can be entertaining, but it's usually for the wrong reasons. Another distinguishing mark of MLS is how it is not very quick (i.e., slow). If it seems to be quick it rarely lasts more than a few seconds, and if it does, you've probably (i.e., most definitely) hit the 1.5x speed button.
Football is actually quite popular here in the US, and it’s getting more exposure. Our USWNT is VERY popular, and we are watching our young USMNT with anticipation. Even our cities that are vying for hosting 2026 matches is getting heated, it almost looks like a school yard brawl.
that's because your archaic society doesn't seem to want to let girls play any team sports apart from a little basketball.
@@oitoitoi1 What are you talking about?? Have you ever heard of Title IX? It’s the direct root cause of all the gold medals and championships American women and girls have.
@@kristi4113 yet there is no following for wnba, I've never even heard of womens professional american football, ice hockey or baseball. Football seems to be the only team sport where title IX made any difference at all.
@@oitoitoi1 Do your research on my country before you speak to me about it. There ARE teams for American sports for females, and why are you bringing this up? What backwoods, misogynistic place are you from? Clearly somewhere that thinks women should be seen and not heard, right? You might wanna skip coming to 2026 in person.
It always has been quick and entertaining, it’s constant counter football, there is always something happening on the field. More enjoyable than Eredivisie and Serie A. Both are too tactical and boring to look at
Serie A has been fun recently, that's am outdated stereotype imo
more enjoyable than Serie A? Do you even watch Serie A lately? Serie A has been fun on this season.
Come for the informative video, stay for the epic Tifo Merch tune!
I’d like to see a comparison between Japan’s J-League and MLS. They both formed around the same time but went different paths. I feel with the J-League, it setup a better approach for youth systems all the way up to professional J-1. The fan base is remarkable as well.
The big advantages MLS has over leagues in Japan, Australia, or others formed around the same time are having more very large cities and more potential viewers overall.
NEVER WOULD I EVER EXPECT A REFERENCE TO MY HOME STATE OF DELAWARE IN MY FAVORITE UA-cam SERIES ABOUT WORLD ⚽️
The Delaware Thunderquakes should be a thing. 😁👍
Ayo put the merch song on Spotify
Eurosnobs in the comments: “MLS fans don’t know what it’s like to be real supporters. Only true fans would know that you support your hometown team regardless of how competitive they are. There are traditions you’ll never understand.”
Also Eurosnobs in the comments:
“What are you doing supporting your hometown team?! Why don’t you switch to a better team?! What do you mean you’ve created your own traditions?!”
@@juliuscaesar8163 There are literally plenty of comments like that.
@@juliuscaesar8163 = joke
no one cares who you support. mls is a joke full of plastic franchises with half the audience dragged there by their boyfriends.
More MLS videos please!
Brand New MLS video out now on our channel! 🇺🇸 ~ The Top 10 MLS Kits from 1996! ~ Check it out! 🎥😃👍
Please make a video on why PSG are so poor with Messi on the pitch
I think it's a great case study of why Ultimate Team players could never become real managers. You cant just slam 4 or 5 World Class attackers into a team and automatically win games.
What is the background trying to suggest at 3:30 ?... i can't quite work it out
Before I've watched the video, I'd say that part of it could be the lack of relegation. MLS teams are guaranteed to be in the top league, unlike Newcastle or West Ham.
MLS and relegation do not mix. The lower leagues are too weak, and the playoff structure we have is thriving. Look right now, the race for the playoffs is crazy intense!
@@BrendanP I know it's a different environment - having the league split into regional halves makes promotion and relegation more difficult too.
American sports model will not allow pro-rel because In American leagues the revenue is evenly shared amongst all teams, & Leagues are already divided into divisions
Is the tifo merch song available on Spotify?
As an American, I got into football because of Premiere League, shout out Liverpool, and with that I became an LAFC fan
@@channelname6486
i agree with this. Europeans and South Americans must let Americans and Australians call the sport as Soccer because Americans have a sport what they call Football and Australians also have a different sports called Football
6:56 Shots fired on Delaware
The sports with the youngest skewing audiences in the US is MLS(Football), WNBA(Womens basketball) and AEW(Wrestling).
Tifo merch song sounds like its out of a fever dream
It might benefit the channel to make more MLS content.
For reasons why see: this video.
it's not more successful than any other videos on mainstream topics (sub coach being the exception because it's a tiny team doing something only a particular kind of football fans will care about)
@@mnm1273 it's a rapidly growing league in the largest media market in the world... Seems like it might be a good time investment.
@@MarcusWayne12 I think on UA-cam India is a bigger market.
But I was responding to your claim that thsi video is proof they should do more about it. Which it isn't.
@@mnm1273 yeah but how is the league in India doing?
My point is that, for a channel covering the sport, doing more coverage of a rapidly growing league in the *most influential* media market in the world might be a decent way to get eyeballs on the channel. It's not hard to follow.
@@MarcusWayne12 What you said was that this video was a proof of your argument. Which it isn't. That gives you're not even trying to argue it was nothing short of a lie.
I'll repeat the fact that India is the largest media market (its football league is irrelevant).
Your statement that he MLS brings more views is obviously wrong when you compare its views to broad topic videos on the channel. Because the MLS is only really major to a single country (why watch a mediocre league in a country with no history). It's also not that popular within the US, because football isn't popular in the US and the MLS isn't the most popular league (Prem viewership at least matches).
If anything you said was true you wouldn't need to lie through your teeth (saying this video was proof, then pretending you didn't, then claiming the US is the biggest media market).
What’s funny is that one of the newest teams LAFC is the most expensive
Their stadium in downtown LA, literally next to the Coliseum and USC's campus. Just the real estate alone is costly.
Its always extremely interesting that when the topic of Pro/Rel is brought up and people (mostly EU) complain that MLS doesnt have it, usually never complain about the Australian A League following the same model. Everyone is so up in arms about MLS. "People who say I dont care about MLS" clearly most times do because it doesnt follow a 100+ year old league model. MLS is a relatively baby league compared to the top 5. People who complain that MLS doesnt follow the EU schedule, well so do a bunch of leagues around the world but why are they never brought up? Compare MLS to league outside the top 5 and almost in every occasion MLS is a way better league.
Honestly, I think for some there is a definitely feeling of sour grapes. I’m not saying about the quality of players and coaching and all that, but for many MLS fans, we got in at the ground level, right? They’re singing the songs that their dads sang and wearing the colours that were gender down, but they didn’t actually get a chance to take part in creating anything. Because MLS is still a relatively young league, traditions are being made by the fans here and now. We’re helping create the songs and picking the colours and names.
I remember during the first few seasons with TFC going to meetings with the club as a representative of my Supporter Group. Myself and many others had a good deal of input that we know the club listened to. And TFC wasn’t the only MLS club to do that, either. The Supporters and fans have always had the ear of clubs and the league.
So yeah, I lived in the UK and followed both my local SPL club and often flew down to watch EPL games and I absolutely love the traditions and everything associated with the game there, but now living back here, it’s even a bit better to know your helping build the sport and creating new traditions too.
Ur channel is bomb!!!!! i luv it
I'd love to see the US become a significant force in world football!
I wouldn't.
Not when they call it soccer
In best case it will take 20 years to reach level of Croatia.
@@akwilson1676 Soccer or football. It does not matter. It's a trivial thing to argue about.
They will not, until they get rid of the Absurd " pay to play " system.
Also pro-rel should be considered but theses franchises owners will not tolerate it so...Maybe wait a couple decades
"55% of US watchers of the EPL were 45 years old or younger" seems around about entirely what I would expect, given the median age of the US population is about 40.
I wouldn't. MLB for example, has a much older fanbase than every other American league.
Despite our hyper capitalist culture, when it comes to sports it doesn’t match up. There’s no incentive for teams to actually perform well, the worst teams actually get rewarded with draft picks, the teams all pool their money collectively, etc. only capitalist aspect is the rich owners get richer while “fans” are just customers
Yeah. They need relegation
What do you mean there’s no incentive for teams to do well? Every single team wants to make the playoffs. If you don’t make the playoffs, that’s a failure. And you do things that are within the rules to build towards that. What makes you think ANY team wants to purposely lose?
Soccer in this country is such a speculative market. Prices are increasing without TV viewership increasing and I'm not sure they will realize their high prices any time soon.
Yeah but a lot of teams are building soccer specific stadiums which means more fans buying tickets.
EXACTLY.