mls is still young league, you cant expect to have allot of fans with a young league,the fanbases will grow as the years go by, I believe mls will be among the best in the world decades from now.
MLS revenue is $2 Billion, very close to Ligue1. MLS spends 26% on players salaries, Ligue1 spends 70%. If MLS chooses to increase that to 50%, the Mean avg ($33M) would surpass the current Median avg of Ligue1 ($31M).
I personally believe that the MLS is the most sustainable long term. Similar to the NFL & NBA, A Salary Cap creates PARITY! I think it's either other leagues become more like the MLS Structure wise OR, Long Term, As the salary caps increase, The MLS will become the Standard league globally. I know it sounds crazy now but like ALWAYS in EVERY business, the companies with Structure/The Meek usually inherit the earth. If you think about it, the Champions League is pretty much the MLS. The Richest Teams in the EPL/LaLiga/SeriaA,League1,Bondesliga are typically the top teams 4 in their leagues year after year after year...... and the poorest teams are a revolving door of promotion and demotion. It's why most European Leagues have become Farmer's leagues. Bayern just won 11 titles in a row 😭 In the last 20 years either Barca or Real have won the title with Atletico winning maybe 3...... Man City just won their 4th straight.... Lets not even talk about League 1...In seria A, Juve won like 10 straight until their financial collapse.... That's not "SPORTS", that's MONOPOLY!!!!!!!!!!!! In the last 5 years, there have been 4 different MLS Champions.... Inevitably, that "SuperLeague" will probably be the end result if each league doesn't implement some sort of structure and balance that gives EVERYONE a realistic fair chance.
I love this comment so much. I have to agree with you and whether you watched the whole length of my content or not, I was kind of eluding to the MLS being a very good league internally. My case was made that I’m not sure they’ll ever compete on a regular basis outside the states. That being said, I completely agree, it’s a league where others can learn and alter their ways. However I fear the big European clubs will prevail with their wealth and continue to dominate their own leagues. Until a super league is formed. Which is inevitable in my opinion
You cannot have a discussion about our league (MLS) without having a serious deep dive into the history of the sport here in our country. Not doing so is missing MASSIVE context as to why MLS has a salary cap in the first place. MLS is the most successful soccer league in the history of the United States by a substantial margin, and it's not even close or debatable. The single entity model of MLS has greatly contributed to its success and stability, which is what we're the most concerned with. Europe's soccer history is not ours, and it is indeed an apples to oranges comparison.
I have received requests to cover the leagues below the MLS, I think that would be a good opportunity to highlight the soccer league history as you mentioned.
man, how much time do you spend on script, visuals, sound mixing, animation and editing????? at this level on UA-cam ur videos are so much closer to people with corporate overlords and also bigger independent creator. pls, do it consistently and i swear u will explode🔥🔥🔥
MLS is a self-contained entity within the US. Its success is determined by its performance in the US. The fact that it doesn't field clubs that could compete in the Premiere League is neither here nor there. That isn't a sufficient definition of success. MLS (like every other soccer league/club in the world) is a business. It exists to make money. It does not exist to showcase the beautiful game. The success of the league or a club is determined by profit and loss. Thats just reality. The US is not Europe. There is no deep soccer culture here. There is no way Pro/Rel could ever be successful here. MLS would not exist except for the closed system. It now occupies the top spot in US soccer and it can't be moved. You have to deal with the situation at hand.
The video does elude to the MLS being a self contained entity, albeit towards the end. However, I thank you for watching and engaging with the comment.
Also, the MLS is 25 years old, the premier league or English top division is over 100. This idea that MLS has to be the best in the at this moment is odd.
Also, other leagues who are not the EPL are also not "the best in the world." That doesn't just apply to MLS. What is Ligue1, Brasileiro A, Bundesliga supposed to do? They're not "Number 1"... so what. Are those leagues not worthy of fans supporting them?
MLS is investing a lot into the academy system, which gives me hope for the future. More so than Saudi or China trying to buy their way into the top flight, I think producing home grown talent is better long term than poaching talent. A lot of young soccer fans in the US are crying for pro/rel and no salary cap but don’t realize the implosion that was the NASL. That model won’t work in this country. My main complaint about soccer and sports in general in the US is that youth clubs are pay to play if you’re not in an academy. Youth sports in this country is extremely expensive. A big part of that is due to travel costs with the size of the country. I’m hoping that the growth of the academy system will lead to MLS clubs creating a large umbrella of youth clubs within their region that they can cover the expenses for.
Currently my Club Atlanta United FC has made a Deal to send Attacking Forward Thiago Almada 🇦🇷 to Botafogo (Brasil Siere A) on Loan before going to Lyon (Ligue 1) in January next year for $21m +$9m in ad ons .Then Fullback Caleb Wiley 🇺🇲 will head to Chelsea to go on loan to Strosburg (Ligue 1) for $10.9m. They're both currently in Paris for the Olympics. We're getting there with young talent, but we have ways to go.
I dont really agree with the team rankings model, Teams in the MLS trade spots all the time, for example the LA Galaxy, arguebly the 2nd most well known MLS team (behind Miami) finished 2nd to last (13/14) in the western confrence and 3rd last in the entire league (26/29) and currently, in the 2024 season sits at 3rd in the western confrence (3/14) which is why i dont think you can compare MLS teams to european teams due the flexibilityof MLS teams in league standings.
I think those companies base team rankings over a period of time so you get a ‘mean’ score which would indicate a slightly more accurate rating. However I do see your point, which is why the MLS is such a competitive league.
It should also be noted that in Ireland it’s also called soccer. Football to me is Gaelic football or American football. Growing up in an Irish immigrant community football was either Gaelic or American. It never was used to talk about soccer growing up.
Biggest Issue is saying "Shortcoming" when talking about MLS money, they have tons of cash they could spend on players but due to the Salary Cap they don't. The Salary Cap is a control tool done by the League Office to make sure Their Investor operatiors don't go broke and kill the teams. Most MLS teams have Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to their names they can likely spend on players if allowed. The MLS could double their Salary Cap and barely feel the issue TODAY but don't to maintain the safety of the league itself
MLS teams need to play tougher games against traditional teams and experience what is available in the major football centers. The main ones are Europe and South America. Therefore, for the growth of football in the US, it would be essential for MLS clubs to join forces in a competition with South American clubs. A major Copa Libertadores de América bringing together US clubs to play games against traditional teams such as Boca Jrs, River Plate, Flamengo, and Palmeiras would be responsible for this leap in competitiveness for MLS clubs.
Unfortunately they will always be held back from competing on the foreign stage due to the salary caps. However, and ironically it’s the salary cap that makes the league so competitive and it clearly works
While it’s true that the individual teams may not operate in a completely “free market”, MLS as a league does. And as an entity, the league has made decisions based on that open, competitive market environment.
Best way to fix the Mls is have relegation. Make bottom teams play for something at the end of the season. The play off system should be 2 legs no way goal rules. 3rd ( this will be controversial) when leagues cup comes around have it either in Mexico or the united states and if possible both. League Mx and the Mls play each other a lot so why not let League MX see their team in their stadium and split the profit from there. And finally the Mls needs more time to grow. The Signings of inter Miami will bring more attention to the mls like in the Saudi league
I think in general the league is doing very well as a business and structure. My take was that its clubs will struggle abroad in the competitions for reasons mentioned. But great shout and some good points. 👍⚽️
I don't wanna be rude, but I can't help but think you don't understand MLS at all. Relegation would seriously hamper the growth of the league since, if a team gets relegated, a number of their fans will simply switch to one of the other, much larger and more established leagues in the US, as well being a first step in degrading parity. Not to mention the fact that a) the gap between USL and MLS is MASSIVE, and b) you would have to negotiate between mls, usl, AND the Canadian PL (who everyone forget even tho mls is US & Canada), which is nigh impossible. "Playoffs should be 2 legs" is asinine. They did that for a while, and then realized that it means the regular season is meaningless beyond making the playoff line. Absolute joke of a suggestion. I agree on Leagues Cup, but literally every fan does, so saying it's controversial is crazy. To top it off, saying Miami will bring in more viewers is pretty redundant as that's been happening since Beckham came over, whether it's Robbie Keane, Henry, Nesta, or Zlatan. It also only really lasts as long as the player is here--the new fans supporting Miami will drop them the second Messi is done.
@@aydenbrudnakvoss4535 I know the gap between the mls and usl. But when a team is 15th place there's nothing really to fight for it's just a game. This will make people want to go to their teams final game because something is on the line and there is more ticket sales. and also that gap between mls and usl is closing in. You cant switch over to other teams sense their a minimum of a 3 hour drive apart. 2 leg finals is what they did before. 3 games traveling between both stadiums in the same week if the game goes to a 3rd game like alanta vs Columbus. it's just being stretched out for no reason when 2 games will bring more fans in. Messi did bring in more views look at the tickets. SKC had to use a football stadium and gellite stadium was packed
@@blackdahlya66 The playoff line was extended to 9 teams to alleviate the lack of something to play for. Also, every year there is at least one team in just about every league with pro/rel that is mathematically eliminated from staying up with several games left in the season, so there will always be teams with "nothing" to play for either way. I put quotes there because if you finish strong; players, coaches, even front office directors can keep their jobs for the next season. The end of the year for a bad team is a great opportunity for younger/lesser used players to get a chance to play and show off. I'm also not particularly sure what you mean by "they can't switch over". For one, they're not a minimum of 3 hours apart: here in the Twin Cities, it's around 30 minutes on the light rail to go from US Bank Stadium to Allianz Field to Xcel Energy Center. I also don't just mean tickets, because attention from fans goes beyond gate receipts. Fans from far away can enjoy a team and bring in value to the club and the league through online viewership and discussion, following the games and the stories, general buzz, and most importantly merchandise of all shapes and sizes. Circling back to the playoff discussion, the reason the first round has 3 matches now instead of just 1 is because the league wants every time that makes the playoffs to have at least one home game so that the fans who do show up all year can have that experience (and to draw more people to the stadium for the pure excitement knockouts provide). I don't really know how 2 games brings in more fans than 3. That's just blatantly untrue. I think I see where you're coming from, but Atlanta v Columbus was ELECTRIC. The 3rd game gave us the Amundsen screamer. And to reiterate, 2 legs simply isn't an option since you need teams that do better during the regular season to have an advantage in the playoffs. Lastly, I'm not disagreeing with you on Messi bringing in more fans, I'm just saying it's not new and it's really not that big long-term for the reasons I mentioned, especially since there isn't a higher profile player to bring in in the future than Messi.
@@aydenbrudnakvoss4535 But what if you add relegation battles as well as play offs. Bring in more revenue for those games as well so all teams have something to play for
Stop lying. MLS has been growing without or without Lil' Messi. Leagues Cup had 1.33 MILLION attendance... for all the fan-fare around Messi, Inter Miami games only accounted for 150k of that.
Coming into this video a little late but... the Leagues Cup has just concluded and it was an all american top 4. The MLS teams beat out all the Liga MX teams. Guve us another 10 years. The younger generations love the game and as a country that produces some of the top athletes in the world. If those athlestes choose this game instead... its going to be a whole new world for association football.
I have to agree it is growing at very good pace. Do you think the pay structure, whilst it works from a sustainability standpoint won’t hold the clubs back for success abroad?
@pioneeringsports the MLS players union has never done a full on strike like other north American sports have. Strikes are painful, but have led to a more equitable share of revenue going to players salaries in those leagues. That is a potential development to watch for.
@@pioneeringsports Yeah it shouldn't take an outside company coming in like the Apple deal with Messi to get top players into the league. We also need to be able to get younger high caliber players to want to play here. That's going to take more than tons of money. Younger players will want to see large crowds in the stands. I think its going to take an exceptional home grown talent to spark the amercian public to get fully invested into the MLS. If you look at our national sports people that don't even care about the sport can name off at least 5 legends in each. If we can produce a michael jordan or a tom brady through the MLS I think that will change the landscape of the league a lot.
The title of the of the video & most of the video only makes sense to someone who started following the MLS after Messi's arrival. How is one of the fastest growing leagues in the world a failing league .
it isn't failing, the length of the video concludes this. Plus the title implies it was failing, and in my experience and research, during the 0's it was failing, now its not - hence 'how 'A' failing.... hope this helps clarify for you, and thanks for engaging.
Being honest I find the way they calculate these positions very odd. For instance the two companies I’ve highlighted in this video have the MLS 16 places apart from each other. How does that work lol?
A MLS exatamente como as outras ligas americanas é somente sobre negócio Não espírito de esportividade e nem tradição já que não há o sistema de acesso e decênio entre as divisões dessas mesmas ligas Basta ver o campeonato brasileiro como exemplo, onde há estaduais, competições regionais, a Copa do Brasil, duas continentais, Super Copa do Brasil e Super Copa da Libertadores, e ainda sobra espaço no calendário para jogar torneios amistosos e o mundial de clubes
@@pioneeringsports They need to get rid of discovery rights and DP rules by increasing the salary cap. Salary cap promotes parity in the league although some teams have an advantage signing high quallity players simply because of location. EX: LA, NYC, Miami.
Villarreal is from Spain's La Liga, not Italian Serie A as you put in the video. And you put Italy as Italy and that was fine, but in the country of Spain you also put Italy, wrong. There aren't two Italies, only one, the other country (that caught between France and Portugal) is Spain.
thank you for pointing this out. I did narrate that Villarreal is from Spain, it was purely the graphic that I hadn't edited correctly. I appreciate your watching so far in to the content though and highlighting the slight error.
What a loaded title. Failing league ? Maybe from 96-05. The league has been growing since 2007, getting better each time. I get it, we’re not considered a top 10 league by the rest of the world…and what? I’ve been watching since its inception and i remember how tough it was back in the MLS 1.0 days when it was really failing. Since about 2007 (after Beckham) the league started rising which is way before Messi. I’m not saying that his arrival didn’t help w the global popularity, that would be crazy. I’m just stating that the league as organization is not failing. Failure is all those leagues before the MLS which kept folding because of terrible infrastructures.
So did you actually watch the video or just read the title? Because he covers all what you’ve just wrote. He didn’t stipulate that it’s failing now and because Messi has arrived now it’s not.
Tried to cover as much as I could without waffling. I attempted to find a balance of comparison and also mention that the MLS was failing back in the day - hence the title. However I’ve not tried to imply that it’s now a success because of Messi
To continue from previous comment, there are a LOT of soccer fans here in America. However, when you ask them what's their favorite club, you're far more likely to hear "Manchester United, Bayern Munich, PSG, or Real Madrid" than any of the MLS clubs.
Haha thanks. Have you had a word with sky sports about their successful ‘soccer Saturday’ program? I knew it would rev a few up, but it certainly wasn’t my intention. Given the video is about the MLS, with the S standing for Soccer - I figured it was appropriate 🤦
I’m not sure there’s much validation in that. San Jose have the highest average age team in the league at 27. And did you see there was a 14 year old made his debut the other night. Insane
@@pioneeringsports no debate from me on us having talent right here in our own backyard🇺🇲⚽. Riqui Puig comes to mind not being an old man. Mad props to the kid Cavan Im already rooting for his career to elevate with pro minutes.
@@uwemoyela5973You can't think outside of your US-centric view. NHL, NFL and NBA are minuscule when you consider viewership and amount of athletes. They are huge in revenue, though. But pale in comparison when you consider the proper competition (UEFA or CSF, for example). You don't understand how it is in the rest of the world. FIFA football is 90% of the attention all year round. They US has seasons with little overlapping, so they share attention span. And the rest of the world don't have the college leagues: athletes star playing in their neighborhood at 3/4 years old. By 16 they are training with some professional league. Basically all debut in a professional league before 18 years. Since with relegation you have a pyramid of teams, UEFA has 20x the 15 to 18 years players than the US can produce. This generates an amount of competition for players that no closed league can match. Same thing happens with managers and even owners. Most of FIFA teams are fan-owned. You can't match that level of loyalty.
@@baldusiif thats the case just allow player to enter the league/training camp younger with the pros. Pro rel is kinda irrelevant when there is no good second option that fills seats as the sport isnt engrained in the nation like UK. And the end the day thats what matter. U could make the case with something like NFL and College. And no pro rel doesnt mean the league is worse plenty ex: basketball has no pro rel but the players are 100% top in world even international competition like FIBA and olympics.
@@marcusbritt483You have too engrained the US system. In the rest of the world, people don't pay to train. You play in your house, you play in the school breaks and when you go to a club, the club pays for installations and trainer, hoping to get a sale on a good player. The NBA and the NHL (NFL and MLB don't count, as they are very US centric) have so much more money than everybody else, that every single European, African, Asian and Latin American hopes to go there. Thus, you are getting the Premier/La Liga/Bundesliga/Serie A effect on those sports already. US Soccer simply can't. For once you have to actually compete in equal footing with the rest of the world. And this is not about money. Look at the sad state of the Mexican League. They pay as much as Europe, but their league is weak. Thus, local players rather stay in Mexico, don't really compete, and end up getting all the retirees from the rest of the world. And it has been like this for many decades. Having huge amount of teams, is what allows to develop a lot of players. And the closed league system does not works for that. Don't forget that you don't know the thrill and glory of international competitions at the club and national team level. And yet, that's what gets the highest viewership of any events.
Great video. I would say MLS is a top 40 football league at best. Saying they are top 20 is severally misleading considering they’ve accomplished very little in the last 20 years and really haven’t put in the effort to change that. While not having promotion and relegation is an issue because it hurts coach and player development, I feel another issue is MLS’s force parity. Forcing parity forces inconsistency amongst the franchises. So they are really not trying to be competitive with one another nor globally. That’s a problem that should be highlighted about them. Considering some of those players are called into our national team on top of MLS coaches getting the USMNT coach job, that is a major problem for those like me who want to see the USMNT one day consistently perform well against strong national teams. I’ve already gave up on MLS and stopped watching them because there is no use supporting a soulless football league. Even the constant parading of Messi is getting on my nerves.
Pro sports is entertainment, first and foremost. Parity, ie any team can have a shot at winning (equality of opportunity), makes the experience as a fan of any team more exciting, especially those that would otherwise be watching their small market team get outclassed by an LA team spending 4x+ more than them. "Forced inconsistency", at least in my and several million other people's opinions, isn't a bad thing. Everything being up in the air every year is more enjoyable than watching the same few teams compete, and, in recent years, the same single team winning in European soccer leagues. Also, it's not as if teams spin a wheel to see if they're good or not--Columbus has had massive success in the past 15 years not because of a financial or historical advantage, but because they're the most well-run club in the league. Seattle and Portland were the only teams from the West to make the final for what, 8 years as well? It makes sustained success impressive and exciting instead of boring and expected.
The United States has lower leagues I don’t know if it’s possibility that they could potentially combine and have that system numerous teams that are currently in MLS started with several franchises in those lower leagues so I think it’s potentially possible
MLS will NEVER have a strong foothold in the U.S. sports landscape. What people need to realize is that team sports like American football, basketball, and baseball have been entrenched in the American culture for over 100 years (Note: all 3 sports were invented in the U.S. in the late 1800s). Additionally, because those sports I highlighted have a lot of time stoppage / dead time, it allows for TV Networks (i.e., ESPN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS) to air commercials. Soccer has continuous action and not as many breaks. The inability to secure TV broadcasting rights is why the NASL (the pro soccer league that existed in the U.S. from 1968 to 1984) failed.
Recent stats beg to differ, and MLS will only keep growing. Plenty of fans are complaining about their favorite leagues (myself included), and if the USMNT can actually perform well in tournaments then more people will get into soccer. Also, I'd say a bigger reason for the NASL failing was because of the lack of restrictions on spending, which led to a bunch of clubs folding because they spent waaaayyy more than they really could've and should've. It'll take time, thinking in decades not years, but "never" is too much.
I disagree. MLS doesn't have commercials mid game and their highlights are easy to get a hold of. NBA, MLB and NFL are on the decline. You gotta appeal to the kids and many younger fans like soccer
@@pioneeringsportspro rel is irrelevant considering the money involved has entire nations buying up teams/ partially funding them ex: man city , psg, chelsa and many others Teams like those can simplify but better play from other teams ex: bayern munich domination is largely due to them just buying the best players from teams in same german league leaving the selling team unable to cope given the pay structure to german teams favoring Bayern unfairly so arguably.
@@marcusbritt483I agree. However, given the case made for the MLS and its pay structure, although Bayern dominate their league, they have also had successful champions league wins during their domestic dominance. Do you think the MLS teams can dominate CONCACAF?
mls is still young league, you cant expect to have allot of fans with a young league,the fanbases will grow as the years go by, I believe mls will be among the best in the world decades from now.
MLS has a long way to go but I would rather watch it than any league where only 4 or less teams have a shot at winning.
Yes it does have a lot of benefits and is certainly competitive. I did elude to this in the video
Mls was growing in popularity long before messi arrived... the messi fans haven't stuck around for the second season, but the league keeps growing.
the mls just needs to focus on home grown talent. english football didnt become a hit overnight.
english football didn't have an influx of foreigners for many many years either - you might have a point
Not true
MLS revenue is $2 Billion, very close to Ligue1. MLS spends 26% on players salaries, Ligue1 spends 70%. If MLS chooses to increase that to 50%, the Mean avg ($33M) would surpass the current Median avg of Ligue1 ($31M).
@@davidday2373 PSG pumping those numbers up lmao
Lies again? NRIC Card USD SGD
I personally believe that the MLS is the most sustainable long term. Similar to the NFL & NBA, A Salary Cap creates PARITY! I think it's either other leagues become more like the MLS Structure wise OR, Long Term, As the salary caps increase, The MLS will become the Standard league globally. I know it sounds crazy now but like ALWAYS in EVERY business, the companies with Structure/The Meek usually inherit the earth. If you think about it, the Champions League is pretty much the MLS. The Richest Teams in the EPL/LaLiga/SeriaA,League1,Bondesliga are typically the top teams 4 in their leagues year after year after year...... and the poorest teams are a revolving door of promotion and demotion. It's why most European Leagues have become Farmer's leagues. Bayern just won 11 titles in a row 😭 In the last 20 years either Barca or Real have won the title with Atletico winning maybe 3...... Man City just won their 4th straight.... Lets not even talk about League 1...In seria A, Juve won like 10 straight until their financial collapse.... That's not "SPORTS", that's MONOPOLY!!!!!!!!!!!! In the last 5 years, there have been 4 different MLS Champions....
Inevitably, that "SuperLeague" will probably be the end result if each league doesn't implement some sort of structure and balance that gives EVERYONE a realistic fair chance.
I love this comment so much. I have to agree with you and whether you watched the whole length of my content or not, I was kind of eluding to the MLS being a very good league internally. My case was made that I’m not sure they’ll ever compete on a regular basis outside the states. That being said, I completely agree, it’s a league where others can learn and alter their ways. However I fear the big European clubs will prevail with their wealth and continue to dominate their own leagues. Until a super league is formed. Which is inevitable in my opinion
@@pioneeringsports Oh I watched your entire video. MAGNIFICENT VIDEO and you gained a new subscriber.
@@the77thwelcome to the channel - I really appreciate your support ❤
Love this channel - how you haven’t got more subs is beyond me
Working on it!
Me too. Excited to watch more
You cannot have a discussion about our league (MLS) without having a serious deep dive into the history of the sport here in our country. Not doing so is missing MASSIVE context as to why MLS has a salary cap in the first place.
MLS is the most successful soccer league in the history of the United States by a substantial margin, and it's not even close or debatable. The single entity model of MLS has greatly contributed to its success and stability, which is what we're the most concerned with. Europe's soccer history is not ours, and it is indeed an apples to oranges comparison.
I have received requests to cover the leagues below the MLS, I think that would be a good opportunity to highlight the soccer league history as you mentioned.
man, how much time do you spend on script, visuals, sound mixing, animation and editing?????
at this level on UA-cam ur videos are so much closer to people with corporate overlords and also bigger independent creator.
pls, do it consistently and i swear u will explode🔥🔥🔥
Ah it’s comments like this that make it worth while. Super excited to hear the positives as it is super hard work.
It’s so good 😊
MLS is a self-contained entity within the US. Its success is determined by its performance in the US. The fact that it doesn't field clubs that could compete in the Premiere League is neither here nor there. That isn't a sufficient definition of success.
MLS (like every other soccer league/club in the world) is a business. It exists to make money. It does not exist to showcase the beautiful game. The success of the league or a club is determined by profit and loss. Thats just reality.
The US is not Europe. There is no deep soccer culture here. There is no way Pro/Rel could ever be successful here. MLS would not exist except for the closed system. It now occupies the top spot in US soccer and it can't be moved. You have to deal with the situation at hand.
The video does elude to the MLS being a self contained entity, albeit towards the end. However, I thank you for watching and engaging with the comment.
Also, the MLS is 25 years old, the premier league or English top division is over 100. This idea that MLS has to be the best in the at this moment is odd.
Also, other leagues who are not the EPL are also not "the best in the world." That doesn't just apply to MLS. What is Ligue1, Brasileiro A, Bundesliga supposed to do? They're not "Number 1"... so what. Are those leagues not worthy of fans supporting them?
MLS isn't just USA 😂
@@fantasyEXX Don't be pedantic.
MLS is investing a lot into the academy system, which gives me hope for the future. More so than Saudi or China trying to buy their way into the top flight, I think producing home grown talent is better long term than poaching talent.
A lot of young soccer fans in the US are crying for pro/rel and no salary cap but don’t realize the implosion that was the NASL. That model won’t work in this country.
My main complaint about soccer and sports in general in the US is that youth clubs are pay to play if you’re not in an academy. Youth sports in this country is extremely expensive. A big part of that is due to travel costs with the size of the country. I’m hoping that the growth of the academy system will lead to MLS clubs creating a large umbrella of youth clubs within their region that they can cover the expenses for.
Really good work on this video. Explaining how MLS rosters work is not easy
Thank you. 🙏 really appreciate the comment and feedback 👍
MLS is still a young league, but it will get big over time. Messi's arrival definitely gave the league a big boost
Yes I agree ☝️
Currently my Club Atlanta United FC has made a Deal to send Attacking Forward Thiago Almada 🇦🇷 to Botafogo (Brasil Siere A) on Loan before going to Lyon (Ligue 1) in January next year for $21m +$9m in ad ons .Then Fullback Caleb Wiley 🇺🇲 will head to Chelsea to go on loan to Strosburg (Ligue 1) for $10.9m. They're both currently in Paris for the Olympics. We're getting there with young talent, but we have ways to go.
Do you think this is positive? I elude to some clubs utilising their academy for young talent
I dont really agree with the team rankings model, Teams in the MLS trade spots all the time, for example the LA Galaxy, arguebly the 2nd most well known MLS team (behind Miami) finished 2nd to last (13/14) in the western confrence and 3rd last in the entire league (26/29) and currently, in the 2024 season sits at 3rd in the western confrence (3/14) which is why i dont think you can compare MLS teams to european teams due the flexibilityof MLS teams in league standings.
I think those companies base team rankings over a period of time so you get a ‘mean’ score which would indicate a slightly more accurate rating. However I do see your point, which is why the MLS is such a competitive league.
Galaxy 2nd?? LA Galaxy are the only team most people on earth know when they think of MLS
It should also be noted that in Ireland it’s also called soccer. Football to me is Gaelic football or American football. Growing up in an Irish immigrant community football was either Gaelic or American. It never was used to talk about soccer growing up.
Owen was a LAFC fan before Messi Came
Who is Owen?
Owen Wilson
Ah yeah he was in the crowd wasn’t he. I’m sure stars are watching Miami just because of Messi and haven’t actually changed clubs
Biggest Issue is saying "Shortcoming" when talking about MLS money, they have tons of cash they could spend on players but due to the Salary Cap they don't. The Salary Cap is a control tool done by the League Office to make sure Their Investor operatiors don't go broke and kill the teams. Most MLS teams have Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to their names they can likely spend on players if allowed. The MLS could double their Salary Cap and barely feel the issue TODAY but don't to maintain the safety of the league itself
Nice video full of info
Glad you think so!
MLS teams need to play tougher games against traditional teams and experience what is available in the major football centers. The main ones are Europe and South America.
Therefore, for the growth of football in the US, it would be essential for MLS clubs to join forces in a competition with South American clubs. A major Copa Libertadores de América bringing together US clubs to play games against traditional teams such as Boca Jrs, River Plate, Flamengo, and Palmeiras would be responsible for this leap in competitiveness for MLS clubs.
Unfortunately they will always be held back from competing on the foreign stage due to the salary caps. However, and ironically it’s the salary cap that makes the league so competitive and it clearly works
While it’s true that the individual teams may not operate in a completely “free market”, MLS as a league does. And as an entity, the league has made decisions based on that open, competitive market environment.
3:18 wow, first time watching that, looks cool
Best way to fix the Mls is have relegation. Make bottom teams play for something at the end of the season. The play off system should be 2 legs no way goal rules. 3rd ( this will be controversial) when leagues cup comes around have it either in Mexico or the united states and if possible both. League Mx and the Mls play each other a lot so why not let League MX see their team in their stadium and split the profit from there. And finally the Mls needs more time to grow. The Signings of inter Miami will bring more attention to the mls like in the Saudi league
I think in general the league is doing very well as a business and structure. My take was that its clubs will struggle abroad in the competitions for reasons mentioned. But great shout and some good points. 👍⚽️
I don't wanna be rude, but I can't help but think you don't understand MLS at all. Relegation would seriously hamper the growth of the league since, if a team gets relegated, a number of their fans will simply switch to one of the other, much larger and more established leagues in the US, as well being a first step in degrading parity. Not to mention the fact that a) the gap between USL and MLS is MASSIVE, and b) you would have to negotiate between mls, usl, AND the Canadian PL (who everyone forget even tho mls is US & Canada), which is nigh impossible.
"Playoffs should be 2 legs" is asinine. They did that for a while, and then realized that it means the regular season is meaningless beyond making the playoff line. Absolute joke of a suggestion.
I agree on Leagues Cup, but literally every fan does, so saying it's controversial is crazy.
To top it off, saying Miami will bring in more viewers is pretty redundant as that's been happening since Beckham came over, whether it's Robbie Keane, Henry, Nesta, or Zlatan. It also only really lasts as long as the player is here--the new fans supporting Miami will drop them the second Messi is done.
@@aydenbrudnakvoss4535 I know the gap between the mls and usl. But when a team is 15th place there's nothing really to fight for it's just a game. This will make people want to go to their teams final game because something is on the line and there is more ticket sales. and also that gap between mls and usl is closing in. You cant switch over to other teams sense their a minimum of a 3 hour drive apart.
2 leg finals is what they did before. 3 games traveling between both stadiums in the same week if the game goes to a 3rd game like alanta vs Columbus. it's just being stretched out for no reason when 2 games will bring more fans in.
Messi did bring in more views look at the tickets. SKC had to use a football stadium and gellite stadium was packed
@@blackdahlya66 The playoff line was extended to 9 teams to alleviate the lack of something to play for. Also, every year there is at least one team in just about every league with pro/rel that is mathematically eliminated from staying up with several games left in the season, so there will always be teams with "nothing" to play for either way. I put quotes there because if you finish strong; players, coaches, even front office directors can keep their jobs for the next season. The end of the year for a bad team is a great opportunity for younger/lesser used players to get a chance to play and show off.
I'm also not particularly sure what you mean by "they can't switch over". For one, they're not a minimum of 3 hours apart: here in the Twin Cities, it's around 30 minutes on the light rail to go from US Bank Stadium to Allianz Field to Xcel Energy Center. I also don't just mean tickets, because attention from fans goes beyond gate receipts. Fans from far away can enjoy a team and bring in value to the club and the league through online viewership and discussion, following the games and the stories, general buzz, and most importantly merchandise of all shapes and sizes.
Circling back to the playoff discussion, the reason the first round has 3 matches now instead of just 1 is because the league wants every time that makes the playoffs to have at least one home game so that the fans who do show up all year can have that experience (and to draw more people to the stadium for the pure excitement knockouts provide). I don't really know how 2 games brings in more fans than 3. That's just blatantly untrue. I think I see where you're coming from, but Atlanta v Columbus was ELECTRIC. The 3rd game gave us the Amundsen screamer. And to reiterate, 2 legs simply isn't an option since you need teams that do better during the regular season to have an advantage in the playoffs.
Lastly, I'm not disagreeing with you on Messi bringing in more fans, I'm just saying it's not new and it's really not that big long-term for the reasons I mentioned, especially since there isn't a higher profile player to bring in in the future than Messi.
@@aydenbrudnakvoss4535 But what if you add relegation battles as well as play offs. Bring in more revenue for those games as well so all teams have something to play for
Columbus crew just beat Aston villa 4-1 😂😂😂
I don’t think epl teams measure pre season friendlies too much
Stop lying. MLS has been growing without or without Lil' Messi. Leagues Cup had 1.33 MILLION attendance... for all the fan-fare around Messi, Inter Miami games only accounted for 150k of that.
I say this in the video
Coming into this video a little late but... the Leagues Cup has just concluded and it was an all american top 4. The MLS teams beat out all the Liga MX teams. Guve us another 10 years. The younger generations love the game and as a country that produces some of the top athletes in the world. If those athlestes choose this game instead... its going to be a whole new world for association football.
I have to agree it is growing at very good pace. Do you think the pay structure, whilst it works from a sustainability standpoint won’t hold the clubs back for success abroad?
@pioneeringsports the MLS players union has never done a full on strike like other north American sports have. Strikes are painful, but have led to a more equitable share of revenue going to players salaries in those leagues. That is a potential development to watch for.
@@pioneeringsports Yeah it shouldn't take an outside company coming in like the Apple deal with Messi to get top players into the league. We also need to be able to get younger high caliber players to want to play here. That's going to take more than tons of money. Younger players will want to see large crowds in the stands. I think its going to take an exceptional home grown talent to spark the amercian public to get fully invested into the MLS. If you look at our national sports people that don't even care about the sport can name off at least 5 legends in each. If we can produce a michael jordan or a tom brady through the MLS I think that will change the landscape of the league a lot.
Pelee > everyone else
The title of the of the video & most of the video only makes sense to someone who started following the MLS after Messi's arrival. How is one of the fastest growing leagues in the world a failing league .
it isn't failing, the length of the video concludes this. Plus the title implies it was failing, and in my experience and research, during the 0's it was failing, now its not - hence 'how 'A' failing.... hope this helps clarify for you, and thanks for engaging.
1:47 I'm just surprised Liga Mx is lower. Could've sworn it would be higher than MLS 😂.
Being honest I find the way they calculate these positions very odd. For instance the two companies I’ve highlighted in this video have the MLS 16 places apart from each other. How does that work lol?
A MLS exatamente como as outras ligas americanas é somente sobre negócio
Não espírito de esportividade e nem tradição já que não há o sistema de acesso e decênio entre as divisões dessas mesmas ligas
Basta ver o campeonato brasileiro como exemplo, onde há estaduais, competições regionais, a Copa do Brasil, duas continentais, Super Copa do Brasil e Super Copa da Libertadores, e ainda sobra espaço no calendário para jogar torneios amistosos e o mundial de clubes
As an American, I honestly enjoy usl leagues, then mls. Can you make a video about the usl Championship and usl League 1.
I think that would be a very good idea. Are you subscribed? I’ll pop this in the calendar.
@pioneeringmedia no, but now I am going to
@@Big_Daddy42that’s great news 🤣✌️
It will never compete with best leagues in the world.Cuz it's still considered a retirement league.
what do you think it needs to do to change that perception?
Owen Wilson go's to LAFC matches on a regular basis. Had nothing to do with messi
were Miami play LAFC that day then?
Not interested in MLS getting rid of salary cap rules. Although they could loosen some rules.
What rules would you want to see eased?
@@pioneeringsports They need to get rid of discovery rights and DP rules by increasing the salary cap. Salary cap promotes parity in the league although some teams have an advantage signing high quallity players simply because of location. EX: LA, NYC, Miami.
Villarreal is from Spain's La Liga, not Italian Serie A as you put in the video. And you put Italy as Italy and that was fine, but in the country of Spain you also put Italy, wrong. There aren't two Italies, only one, the other country (that caught between France and Portugal) is Spain.
thank you for pointing this out. I did narrate that Villarreal is from Spain, it was purely the graphic that I hadn't edited correctly. I appreciate your watching so far in to the content though and highlighting the slight error.
@@pioneeringsports Yeah and it was kind of sad I believe cause I think the video was cool up until that point.
What a loaded title. Failing league ? Maybe from 96-05. The league has been growing since 2007, getting better each time. I get it, we’re not considered a top 10 league by the rest of the world…and what? I’ve been watching since its inception and i remember how tough it was back in the MLS 1.0 days when it was really failing. Since about 2007 (after Beckham) the league started rising which is way before Messi. I’m not saying that his arrival didn’t help w the global popularity, that would be crazy. I’m just stating that the league as organization is not failing. Failure is all those leagues before the MLS which kept folding because of terrible infrastructures.
So did you actually watch the video or just read the title? Because he covers all what you’ve just wrote. He didn’t stipulate that it’s failing now and because Messi has arrived now it’s not.
Tried to cover as much as I could without waffling. I attempted to find a balance of comparison and also mention that the MLS was failing back in the day - hence the title. However I’ve not tried to imply that it’s now a success because of Messi
To continue from previous comment, there are a LOT of soccer fans here in America. However, when you ask them what's their favorite club, you're far more likely to hear "Manchester United, Bayern Munich, PSG, or Real Madrid" than any of the MLS clubs.
doesn't matter that soccer originated in the UK its football call it as such please. Otherwise great video
Haha thanks. Have you had a word with sky sports about their successful ‘soccer Saturday’ program?
I knew it would rev a few up, but it certainly wasn’t my intention. Given the video is about the MLS, with the S standing for Soccer - I figured it was appropriate 🤦
Soccer is a British term...
Its becoming the rest of the worlds retirement plan for aging stars. 🤑🇺🇲
I’m not sure there’s much validation in that. San Jose have the highest average age team in the league at 27. And did you see there was a 14 year old made his debut the other night. Insane
@@pioneeringsports no debate from me on us having talent right here in our own backyard🇺🇲⚽. Riqui Puig comes to mind not being an old man. Mad props to the kid Cavan Im already rooting for his career to elevate with pro minutes.
Without promotion and relegation it will never compete with the rest of the world.
LOL... yeah cause nfl, nhl or nba arent the biggest leagues of their sport...
It has nothing to do wth promotion and relegation...
@@uwemoyela5973None of those leagues have to realistically compete with the rest of the world.
@@uwemoyela5973You can't think outside of your US-centric view. NHL, NFL and NBA are minuscule when you consider viewership and amount of athletes. They are huge in revenue, though. But pale in comparison when you consider the proper competition (UEFA or CSF, for example). You don't understand how it is in the rest of the world. FIFA football is 90% of the attention all year round. They US has seasons with little overlapping, so they share attention span. And the rest of the world don't have the college leagues: athletes star playing in their neighborhood at 3/4 years old. By 16 they are training with some professional league. Basically all debut in a professional league before 18 years. Since with relegation you have a pyramid of teams, UEFA has 20x the 15 to 18 years players than the US can produce. This generates an amount of competition for players that no closed league can match. Same thing happens with managers and even owners. Most of FIFA teams are fan-owned. You can't match that level of loyalty.
@@baldusiif thats the case just allow player to enter the league/training camp younger with the pros.
Pro rel is kinda irrelevant when there is no good second option that fills seats as the sport isnt engrained in the nation like UK. And the end the day thats what matter. U could make the case with something like NFL and College.
And no pro rel doesnt mean the league is worse plenty ex: basketball has no pro rel but the players are 100% top in world even international competition like FIBA and olympics.
@@marcusbritt483You have too engrained the US system. In the rest of the world, people don't pay to train. You play in your house, you play in the school breaks and when you go to a club, the club pays for installations and trainer, hoping to get a sale on a good player.
The NBA and the NHL (NFL and MLB don't count, as they are very US centric) have so much more money than everybody else, that every single European, African, Asian and Latin American hopes to go there. Thus, you are getting the Premier/La Liga/Bundesliga/Serie A effect on those sports already.
US Soccer simply can't. For once you have to actually compete in equal footing with the rest of the world.
And this is not about money. Look at the sad state of the Mexican League. They pay as much as Europe, but their league is weak. Thus, local players rather stay in Mexico, don't really compete, and end up getting all the retirees from the rest of the world. And it has been like this for many decades.
Having huge amount of teams, is what allows to develop a lot of players. And the closed league system does not works for that.
Don't forget that you don't know the thrill and glory of international competitions at the club and national team level. And yet, that's what gets the highest viewership of any events.
Great video. I would say MLS is a top 40 football league at best. Saying they are top 20 is severally misleading considering they’ve accomplished very little in the last 20 years and really haven’t put in the effort to change that.
While not having promotion and relegation is an issue because it hurts coach and player development, I feel another issue is MLS’s force parity. Forcing parity forces inconsistency amongst the franchises. So they are really not trying to be competitive with one another nor globally. That’s a problem that should be highlighted about them. Considering some of those players are called into our national team on top of MLS coaches getting the USMNT coach job, that is a major problem for those like me who want to see the USMNT one day consistently perform well against strong national teams. I’ve already gave up on MLS and stopped watching them because there is no use supporting a soulless football league. Even the constant parading of Messi is getting on my nerves.
Great comment and a subject that seems close to your heart.
Pro sports is entertainment, first and foremost. Parity, ie any team can have a shot at winning (equality of opportunity), makes the experience as a fan of any team more exciting, especially those that would otherwise be watching their small market team get outclassed by an LA team spending 4x+ more than them. "Forced inconsistency", at least in my and several million other people's opinions, isn't a bad thing. Everything being up in the air every year is more enjoyable than watching the same few teams compete, and, in recent years, the same single team winning in European soccer leagues.
Also, it's not as if teams spin a wheel to see if they're good or not--Columbus has had massive success in the past 15 years not because of a financial or historical advantage, but because they're the most well-run club in the league. Seattle and Portland were the only teams from the West to make the final for what, 8 years as well? It makes sustained success impressive and exciting instead of boring and expected.
The United States has lower leagues I don’t know if it’s possibility that they could potentially combine and have that system numerous teams that are currently in MLS started with several franchises in those lower leagues so I think it’s potentially possible
SPL the real league and competitive . And inter Miami vs Al nasser is big prove 😎 0-6 .
I think time will tell. SPL have a lot of catching up to do
@@pioneeringsports looking forward to seeing new episode about SPL updates in future . Cheers.
@@mjsharekh5319definitely - let’s do it 👍
MLS will NEVER have a strong foothold in the U.S. sports landscape. What people need to realize is that team sports like American football, basketball, and baseball have been entrenched in the American culture for over 100 years (Note: all 3 sports were invented in the U.S. in the late 1800s). Additionally, because those sports I highlighted have a lot of time stoppage / dead time, it allows for TV Networks (i.e., ESPN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS) to air commercials. Soccer has continuous action and not as many breaks. The inability to secure TV broadcasting rights is why the NASL (the pro soccer league that existed in the U.S. from 1968 to 1984) failed.
Some great points 👍
Recent stats beg to differ, and MLS will only keep growing. Plenty of fans are complaining about their favorite leagues (myself included), and if the USMNT can actually perform well in tournaments then more people will get into soccer. Also, I'd say a bigger reason for the NASL failing was because of the lack of restrictions on spending, which led to a bunch of clubs folding because they spent waaaayyy more than they really could've and should've.
It'll take time, thinking in decades not years, but "never" is too much.
I disagree. MLS doesn't have commercials mid game and their highlights are easy to get a hold of. NBA, MLB and NFL are on the decline. You gotta appeal to the kids and many younger fans like soccer
What’s soccer?
It’s a term first used in the UK 🇬🇧 in 1891, although it was Spelled ‘Socker’ 🤷♂️
its football@@pioneeringsports
Well the video is about the MLS, and the S does stand for Soccer - just sayin 🤷♂️
MLS without a promotion and relegation is a piece of trash that no one recognizes
pro-rel means a weaker players union
Pro rel means you have no parity
i disliked only because of using soccer
Did you watch all the footage? Soccer originated in the uk 🇬🇧 just sayin lol
@@pioneeringsportspro rel is irrelevant considering the money involved has entire nations buying up teams/ partially funding them ex: man city , psg, chelsa and many others
Teams like those can simplify but better play from other teams ex: bayern munich domination is largely due to them just buying the best players from teams in same german league leaving the selling team unable to cope given the pay structure to german teams favoring Bayern unfairly so arguably.
@@marcusbritt483I agree. However, given the case made for the MLS and its pay structure, although Bayern dominate their league, they have also had successful champions league wins during their domestic dominance. Do you think the MLS teams can dominate CONCACAF?
Such an imature reason to dislike a video and hurt a creator
@@MrJoeSomebody extremely grateful of your understanding 👍
Mls the league retirement home for old players.
You’re not the first to comment that. Seems a shame that people still have that perception. How do you think they can change it?