Major League Soccer: a growing international force?

Star Quality:

Over the years the MLS have had some of the world’s finest players ply their trade in their league, with David Beckham being the most famous due to his three year spell as LA Galaxy. More recently David Villa, Jermaine Defoe, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have starred in the MLS, and with the well-publicised arrivals of European legends such as Steven Gerrard (La Galaxy), Frank Lampard (New York City) and Andrea Pirlo (New York City), the MLS is quickly making a name for itself as a league that is capable of capturing the kind of players needed to boost its’ pedigree.

Admittedly all of the afore-mentioned players area reaching the twilight years of their career’s, and whether they would have moved to the US had there been a bigger interest in their services from top European clubs remains to be seen. However, as Frank Lampard stated upon arrival in New York – “The MLS is no retirement home”, and there is some truth in what he says.

Lampard, Gerrard, Pirlo and co. will naturally increase interest in soccer in the US but in order for the MLS to continue to grow, they ought to attract players at their peak. They are not yet in a position to attract the likes of Messi, Neymar, Goetze, Hazard, Bale etc. but in a few years time, the situation could well be different.