A new center threatens to dethrone the Brazilian championship as the protagonist of American football: Major League Soccer (MLS), which is gaining ground by leaps and bounds by taking advantage of the decline in the traditional markets of Argentina and Mexico.
American clubs have changed the strategy of signing famous players on the verge of retirement, with which they sought for years to attract attention for their championship, launched in 1996.
Now, they compete for the jewels of the continent with Brazilian teams and surpass Argentines and Mexicans, once great predators of the market, but who lost space due to financial difficulties and changes in regulations.
The change in posture guarantees to improve the MLS level and the profit margins with the eventual sale of players to Europe, resources that the South American powers used to monopolize.
“It has to do with the vision that the team owners had for (MLS) to become one of the biggest leagues in the world,” he told AFP Alfonso Mondelo, Director of MLS Competitions.
From “begging” to summoning
The US league, in which three Canadian teams participate, is since 2021 the highest spender on signings in America, according to an analysis by AFP from Fifa reports on transfers between 2018 and 2022 (except 2020, due to the pandemic).
In 2021, US$ 159.9 million (R$ 827 million, at current exchange rates) were spent, three times more than in Brazil, 11 times more than in Argentina and five times more than in Mexico. Last season, it was US$ 181.5 million (R$ 938.8 million), more than double that of Argentines and Mexicans and 1.6 more than Brazilians.
“In the early years of MLS, you almost had to beg the players to come. Now they contact us” because of the organization and because they can then go to Europe, says Mondelo.
In February 2022, Atlanta United showed this new strategy: it paid Vélez Sarsfield (ARG) the record amount for this market of US$ 16 million (R$ 82.7 million) for Thiago Almada, then 20 years old and coveted by Europeans.
“I want to have a good season and have the opportunity to go to Europe”, said Almada at the time.
Ten months later, the Argentine became the first MLS player to win the World Cup.
In previous windows, other youngsters with a future on the ‘Old Continent’ were hired: the Argentine Alan Velasco, the Uruguayan Diego Rossi and the Brazilian Talles Magno (formerVasco).
competitive jumping
Hiring foreigners and strengthening the base has borne fruit: the value of the 29 MLS squads (US$ 1.250 billion, or R$ 6.465 billion) is the second highest in absolute terms since 2022, close to that of the 20 from Série A of the Brasileirão (US$ 1.450 billion, or R$7.5 billion).
Behind appear the 18 of the elite of the Mexican Championship (US$ 880.5 million, or R$ 4.554 billion) and the 28 of Argentina (US$ 852 million, or R$ 4.407 billion), according to the specialized portal Transfer market.
“The United States, in terms of market value, will end up passing because they know how to do gigantic business, they are growing in a correct, gradual way”, says Brazilian player agent Marcelo Mascagni.
However, the US league, one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, still has a long way to go.
The international conquests of his clubs are few: three ‘Concachampions’ titles, against 37 from Mexico and six from Costa Rica.
“It is important to first become the most important league in Concacaf, our next challenge, and then see how we can reach the best leagues in the world”, explains Mondelo.
Brazilian contradiction
Brazil has what the US is looking for: international dominance, mainly with the titles of Flamengo and Palmeiras in the last four editions of the Libertadores Cup.
Although several clubs in the country are in financial crisis, they are exploiting their status as the world’s leading producer and exporter of players to build competitive squads and improve their structure.
The departure of young players has been made up for with the arrival of big names at the end of their careers – the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, the Chilean Arturo Vidal, the Brazilian Marcelo – and promises from other countries in South America.
Whether for the raw material or the resale of foreigners, Brazil has consolidated itself as the country on the continent that earns the most with transfers.
In 2022, 998 Brazilian soccer players were sold for US$ 267.2 million (R$ 1.3 billion), way ahead of Argentina (US$ 146.6 million, or R$ 758.3 million) and the USA ( US$ 135.2 million, or R$ 699.3 million), according to FIFA.
But not everything is party: although exports have increased, the volume of money has decreased. Last year, sales revenue was 30% lower than in 2018, even with the sale of 166 more players
This is due to “the disorganization of the clubs, who let the players go for free. Sometimes they prefer not to earn anything than to sell cheap”, believes Mascagni.
For him, clubs often lose the ‘timing’ of the sale and therefore end up negotiating lower values, so “Europeans take Brazilian promises younger and younger”, when they cost less.
showcase in crisis
The Brazilian strengthening contrasts with the crisis of its biggest rival: Argentina, with a shortage of dollars – used for transactions and wages -, the devaluation of the Argentine peso and high inflation.
The promises that appeared in emerging markets now go to Brazil or the United States. In this way, the Argentine Championship ages: the average age of players is currently 26.7 years, compared to 24 in 2018.
“Argentina is not an attractive market,” except for River Plate and Boca Juniors, points out Jaime Rascón, a market specialist with experience in Mexico’s America and Spain’s Barcelona.
“There is currency devaluation, which makes it very difficult for any player to maintain their purchasing power and standard of living”, he adds.
For this reason, football in the country has lost emblematic figures, such as midfielder Nacho Fernández, who left River in 2021, the last non-Brazilian club to win Libertadores (2018), to sign with Atlético-MG. The talented 33-year-old has returned to the Buenos Aires club for the 2023 season.
Market that ‘disappeared’
Clubs that previously fed Argentine football were also scared by the legal disputes with teams from Argentina due to lack of payment.
“Doing business with the United States became the first focus”, says Ramiro Ruiz, president of Envigado, which has one of the most prestigious youth teams in Colombia.
The club sold James Rodríguez to Banfield (ARG) in 2008. From there, the midfielder went straight to Europe.
But the Argentines still have an advantage: they often sell their promises directly to European football, guaranteeing greater profit, as in the millionaire transfers of Enzo Fernández to Chelsea and Julián Álvarez to Manchester City, both from River Plate and world champions in 2022.
Historically known for hiring involving great values and attractive salaries, the Mexican market is also in a downturn.
“There is an agreement with the league to lower the salaries of the squads” and reduce the number of foreigners, explains Rascón.
In the last five years, there has been a drop in expenses (37%) and revenues (50%) with transfers, as well as sales (34%) and hiring (23%).
“But a market that was always watching the player here (Brazil) disappeared”, laments Mascagni.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
