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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| Yonhap News |
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Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Son Heung-min (LAFC), Thomas Müller (VANUCO Whitecaps), and Irving Rosano (San Diego FC). All the stars who played in European soccer are now playing in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS).
When they left the big leagues and chose MLS, most of the responses were 'surprise'. He is a high-paid player far beyond the salary cap in the league, but it is by no means high compared to Europe. Unlike Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Messi and Son Heung-min, who previously performed in the U.S., who went to big cities such as New York, LA, or Miami, they are recently heading to relatively small cities such as Vancouver and San Diego.
It is living conditions that play a decisive role in European stars heading to the United States.
"We have mountains and the Pacific coast," Vancouver general manager Axel Schuster told ESPN. Whenever you recruit players, search the top 10 most livable cities in the world without asking or questioning. Vancouver comes out at the top, says" "Losano has spent a long time in Europe, including PSV Eindhoven (the Netherlands), but we are close to Mexico," San Diego's general manager Tyler Hibs said. "It must have been very attractive for him and his family to be able to come back near his hometown after a long time in Europe." Regarding Anders Dreyer, who plays as a designated player with Rosano, "He said he couldn't get out of the game when he lost in the Anderlecht era. I'm not saying we don't either, but I think American culture is a little different. The family feels safe, and the player himself can live the way he wants", he pointed out.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Analysts say that transportation, which allows people to return to their hometowns at any time, is also an attractive factor in determining their MLS journey. Charlotte FC's general manager Zoran Crnetta said, `Whenever European players are told that they can travel directly from Charlotte Airport to London, Paris, Milan and Madrid, they are surprised" he said. In addition, most teams in MLS, as well as the fact that they can train in the latest infrastructure in the U.S., are also attractive.
There is also a view that MLS travel is not limited to just 'football'. Peter Vermes, who coached Sporting Kansas City, said "Ronaldo almost made it to the MLS in 2023 as well. At the time, they talked about not only their lives in Kansas City, but also their club infrastructure, sales of uniforms, and sponsorship dealsPerhaps Beckham is the most perfect example. He came to the United States to build his brand. Even if it's not immediately, it's something I've been looking forward to after retirement."
Despite this, MLS is still receiving unwelcome attention within Europe: 'Retired League'. It is true that it is difficult to create a big league due to the league structure, which operates under a secretariat-commissioner-centered system and distributes profits evenly without a promotion system, and is far from developing because it is centered on internal competition. One of the reasons for this label is that most of the big league stars who overwhelm local players choose MLS only when they are in their mid-to-late 30s, the end of their careers. "It's the most beautiful and wonderful city in the world, but it's not what we want for a player to just enjoy his life here," Schuster said. "Müller did a lot of research on his team's performance, his current situation, and so on before he came to our team. Maybe two or three years ago, they would have rejected our offer." Head of Hibs also "It is not only for the team but also for them that Rossano and Dreyer are performing well in the league. Because we included a lot of bonuses in the contract," it said.
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Son Heung-min's choice of LA FC was also attributed to the previous reasons. In addition, a sense of goal has been added to the success of the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup finals, which could be the last of the national team's career. With every move drawing attention after arriving in the U.S., interest in whether Son Heung-min will be able to succeed on and off the ground as in Europe is growing.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
