“In that fifth league, I would even score goals…” The Messi Haters Club, based in Madrid and with branches in Latin America, has patented a new excuse to try to overshadow the historic event that, at the age of 36, plays the genius in America. But when a player scores extraordinary goals, for example from a free kick, like those scored by Cruz Azul or Dallas, it is the same as if they were in England, Uganda or Laos. The ball in both cases was as if it was remotely controlled at an angle, the product of a subtle, refined shot, perfect precision and power. Nico Estévez, the coach of Dallas, summed it up brilliantly: “A free kick for Messi is equal to a penalty for other footballers.” Whether in the northern or southern hemisphere, in the east or the west. It has nothing to do with the opponent or league level, but with his unique ability. Messi is the top scorer of all time in the five major European leagues, what he can do in American football has already been done hundreds of times in Europe.

But the shot goes in the other direction. Is MLS a fifth tier league…? It has less tradition than many, it’s true, but in the hierarchy it can be among the top ten or fifteen in the world. Let’s see, England is number one, let’s say Spain, Italy and Germany follow. France takes a place in this because of the incredible number of footballers it produces. And then what…? Portugal…? Yes, there’s Porto, Benfica and Sporting, the three giants who usually cheer for the Champions League (and sometimes win it). But between those three famous ones there is an army of little thumbs: Chaves, Rio Ave, Vizela, Gil Vicente, Casa Pia, Estrela, Famalicão, Arouca, Portimonense, Moreirense, Farense…

How about Holland…? Behind Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV are Almere City, Volendam, Excelsior, Sparta, Fortuna Sittard, Go Ahead Eagles, Heerenven, Heracles, Nijmegen, Zwolle, Waalwijk, Twente, Vitesse… Is this better than MLS. ..? The historic Ferencvaros, the current champion of Hungary, was eliminated from the Champions League by the unknown Klaksvik from the Faroe Islands on July 19. And that defeated him 3 to 0. Is the Hungarian league a higher category than the North American one…? Oh really…?

And those of Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Wales are even more modest, because they don’t have any big ones, neither Benfica nor Ajax. Not to mention Albania, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Estonia and thirty more. Outside of Europe, in order of importance, Argentina and Brazil follow. We would hitchhike a wagon from Colombia. And then Mexico and the United States. There are no better ones. Africa is not counted in the club segment, and from Asia we could mention Japan and now Saudi Arabia’s attempt to position itself among the most attractive media, but which started this year by hiring a dozen figures based on the stratospheric salaries paid by the state. An extravaganza that no one knows how it might end. China is an example of artificial growth: it brought in big professional names with crazy salaries and almost all the clubs went under. Terrible ending. The party is over.

So if we execute the command, it will give us more or less this: 1) England, 2) Spain, 3) Italy, 4) Germany, 5) France, 6) Brazil, 7) Argentina, 8) Japan, 9) Mexico , 10) United States, 11) Colombia. In South America, tournaments like those in Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Paraguay have a very modest budget. There is always a big one who can engage a player with minimal cartel, nothing else.

Transfermarkt.com, Germany’s most prestigious football website in terms of markets, quotes, leagues, scale and transfers give this list of the 15 best leagues according to the total valuation of the footballers who play in them. In it, MLS is in seventh place: 1) England (€10,000 million), 2) Spain (€5,000 million), 3) Italy (€4,000 million), 4) Germany (€4,000 million), 5. France (€3,000 million), 6) Brazil (1400 million euros), 7) United States of America (1200 million euros), 8) Portugal (1200 million euros), 9) Turkey (1000 million euros), 10) Netherlands (987 million euros), 11) Mexico (821 million euros), 12) Russia (809 million euros), 13) Argentina (809 million euros), 14) Belgium (804 million euros), 15) Saudi Arabia (749 million euros).

Major League Soccer will be thirty years old in 2026. Three decades of steady growth. Clubs are no longer ordinary franchises that last three years, they have their own specific football stadiums, not like before when they played on American football fields. They no longer import veterans but promising young people into their countries. Two good examples are Thiago Almada and Alan Velasco. They were the two great hopes of Argentine football and they ended up in the United States. At the age of 19, Alan Velasco moved from Independiente to Dallas FC for 7 million dollars without taxes, which is the most brilliant purchase of the Texas club. Thiago Almada, champion with Argentina in Qatar 2022, is the most expensive signing in MLS history: 16 million Atlanta United paid Vélez Sarsfield when he was only 20 years old. That’s the range of current signings in MLS, which has growing economic strength and a unique organization, because no one can go out of budget and go bankrupt, as happened in the days of Pelé, Beckenbauer and others. Because of this, clubs like the Cosmos, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Washington Diplomats, Los Angeles Aztecs and all the others who made up that first major championship in the mid-70s went bankrupt. Clubs and League Now all teams are firmly consolidated and managed by Commissioner Don Garber. There’s no way it’s going off the rails.

“MLS has a lot of potential and Messi is the perfect boost to position the league among the best in the world,” says Juan Pablo Reynal, president of Onside Entertainment, producer of the event and the Women’s Cup. Reynal added that MLS achieved the most important thing: property valuation and fiscal responsibility. That is, now everything is worth more and there are no debts. “Off the field, the model worked,” Reynal said. “The next step is the product. Improve the quality of the game, maybe look for a format like the Premier League. Messi is a big step. The United States has a unique tailwind with the Copa América in 2024 and the World Cup in 2026. Conditions are right for continued growth”.

Also the Major League is a previous step for jumping to stronger destinations. Micky Almirón, the main star of the Paraguayan team and Newcastle on the rise, today in the Champions League, came to England from Atlanta United for 24 million euros. River Plate brought back Esequiel Barca, their current big star, for Argentine football. Four-time World Cup winner Xherdan Shaqiri defends the colors of the Chicago Fire. There are dozens of other examples. MLS has already overtaken Mexico as the preferred destination for soccer players and national team players, just as the US team has pulled Mexico in recent clashes.

The Messi phenomenon is completely unexpected, everyone thought that after winning everything, at his age when others have retired or are finding it, he will go relax to some less stressful destination, but a competitive animal has appeared that lives in it. , and managed to transform the team that is last in the positions into a sports sensation of the country. His dazzling performances made the football planet turn its attention to Inter Miami and now we all follow the pink and black games, shout Leo’s goals and know the line-up by heart. We even look forward to the next game, to see what new fantasy the greatest player ever has in store for us. (D)