Mls & Foreign Players

MrE

Registered
Jun 1, 2014
866
362
63
57
Whilst discussing the future of Frank Lampard in my pub last night, the guys were amazed that the MLS owns the contracts etc etc and the discussion changed a little, on question that got raised was

(Accepting the ideal scenario, the MLS is loaded with the best players in the world and they are all American)

In order to achieve being one of the worlds best leagues, you have to attract the worlds best players in there prime. To do this you may have to lift restrictions on the number of non US players allowed in any one team / squad.

Would you guys rather have the MLS limited as it is now or would you rather lift the restrictions and attract the worlds best talent or safeguard US players for the USMNT.
 
id prefer a free trade system, and do away with the draft, salary caps and constant squad changes. If i have a good team, why would i want to be in the draft?
 
I think if they lifted the restrictions as they are now or loosened them a bit you'd see similar to what we have in BPL.
People shaming teams without many English players in the starting 11. Ohhh if the league was based on English players scoring goals this is how the table would look. And so on.
If you take a look at The German league the majority of their players play together in the league and are thus familiar with each other and the style of play. They have the best national team in the world.
Bringing more foreign players into the league would hamper development and I think significantly impact our national team. You'd see our best players leaving the MLS in order to find starting roles elsewhere.
 
With the way German soccer is right now, you would have thought they invented the sport. Sorta like Spain when Spain was running the show.
 
Last edited:
That is going to come into play if they raise the salary cap significantly. I don't know how many non-DP americans are worth much more than they are being paid now. You will pull some of the guys back home from Mexico, but where is the rest of the american talent that will fill out the rosters if the salary cap rises by say 50%?

So, I think, you will continue to have the same americans on rosters making the same salaries, and the extra cap money will go to pay more for foreign talent.

I think the restriction of foreigners per team is valuable especially as the league is still growing. I think you will pull in more fans initially if you have guys on the team that are relatable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kjbert
This is closely tied to the discussion about the salary cap, which we already discussed.

But the simple answer is yes, you need to lift salary restrictions to make the league better and get better players. But paying a ton of money for the best players doesn't necessarily equal making more money or even profit. Since its not a given that by bringing Rooney and Messi will raise the TV audience for MLS to NFL or EPL levels, MLS can't spend like the NFL or EPL.

Someday, yes. Tomorrow or next year, no.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gene
That is going to come into play if they raise the salary cap significantly. I don't know how many non-DP americans are worth much more than they are being paid now. You will pull some of the guys back home from Mexico, but where is the rest of the american talent that will fill out the rosters if the salary cap rises by say 50%?

So, I think, you will continue to have the same americans on rosters making the same salaries, and the extra cap money will go to pay more for foreign talent.

I think the restriction of foreigners per team is valuable especially as the league is still growing. I think you will pull in more fans initially if you have guys on the team that are relatable.


This is a good post. Just like in the EPL (Ricky Lambert as an example), there is a premium paid for American talent. Michael Bradley is not worth what he is being paid - but he is worth that to MLS.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom in Fairfield CT