The Club World Cup has shown MLS the cost of capping ambition | MLS
EComing for a tournament that produced a score of 10-0, the domination of Paris Saint-Germain on Inter Miami to reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 Club World Cup was overwhelming. In a particularly unilateral first half, the team of Major League Soccer failed to gather a single shot on the target. Lionel Messi had only 14 keys against his former team which scored more goals (four) that Inter Miami finished the passes in the third striker (three).
No one expected anything different. This is a PSG outfit that marked five pass at Inter Milan in the Champions League final only a few weeks ago. They also opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 4-0 kick from Atletico Madrid which also underlined the strength of the Luis Enrique team. Inter Miami was the sixth side to have lost against PSG by four or more goals this season. They are not unique.
And yet, the pure non-competitivity of the Sunday match in Atlanta made it impossible not to derive judgments on the management of MLS and its teams on the world scene. At least Inter Miami has reached the last meeting of the last 16 people with the European champions. The Los Angeles FC and the Spenders of Seattle were both released in the group stage, not having recorded a single victory between them. Did the image MLS want to transmit to the watching world?
One could say that the three participants of the MLS World Cup have acquired well during the tournament. Seattle lost only 2-0 against PSG and 3-1 against Atletico Madrid. They could also have taken something against Botafogo, rallying late against the South American champions. Lafc was not blown away from the water by Chelsea, losing only 2-0, and took a flamengo point.
Inter Miami obtained the largest result ever recorded by an MLS team against an European opponent when they beat Porto. Messi and Co were also just a few minutes to beat Palmeiras and finish at the top of their group, a result which would have given them a more favorable round of 16 against Botafogo. They could have gone further.
As he was Inter Miami ran in PSG, which brutally exposed why the MLS still cannot be considered one of the best leagues in the world. For each Messi and Luis Suarez on an MLS list, there is a Tomas Aviles and Maxi Falcon. Although PSG is the Complete team, Inter Miami is not quite because MLS ‘rules and salary ceiling are designed to prevent them from being one.
MLS does not want PSG, and perhaps with reason. The Ligue 1 title has been won by Parisians in the past 11 seasons. The MLS CUP, on the other hand, has not been preserved since David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy were consecutive more than ten years ago. At a time when football at the elite level becomes more and more predictable, MLS parity is more precious than ever. It is something that is worth being protected.
However, this is in contradiction with the league declared to one day become one of the best in the world and the broad club World Cup made it obvious. The best world teams are the most complete teams, as well as the kind of humiliation between Miami could have suffered against PSG Force MLS to finally loosen the Stockings of the Stock Exchange?
Many thought it would happen after Messi’s arrival in the league two years ago. Instead, MLS only changed its alignment rules to blur the boundaries between designated players and the signatures of the initiative for under 22, double the number of contractual redemptions authorized per season and increases the general allocation currency teams (GAM) when players are transferred outside the league. Barely transformational stuff.
The introduction of a new “Cash for Players” commercial mechanism for the 2025 season was a step in the right direction and was quickly used by the teams who are now able to teach for the best players already in MLS, but it has done nothing to lift expenditure limits. What was the point of signing the best player of all time to develop the league if the product in the field limits this growth? MLS did not find a good answer to this question.
There is more than one way to build a world class league and Saudi Arabia certainly takes a different tact. Al-Hilal, for example, has more than held up during the club World Cup despite a game in a national league classified at 17 places below the MLS by Opta. Although the Saudi Pro League has an allocation of foreign players that resembles the DP rule of MLS, there is no salary restriction which facilitates the construction of a more complete team.
Al-Hilal has no aviles or falcon. Instead, they have Joao Cancelo and Kalidou Koulibaly. And Yassine Bounou and Renan Lodi. And Ruben Neves in front of the four rear to make good measure. This strength through the field made al-Hilal’s difficult opponents during the club World Cup, as will certify Real Madrid. Saudi teams do not play with a hand attached behind their back.
Of course, MLS does not have the credit card of a sovereign fund in his pocket, but several owners of clubs are desperate to spend more. Jorge Mas would have led lobbying for a relaxed salary ceiling. Sergio Busquets claims that MLS alignment rules slow down the league growth. Federico Redondo thinks that for MLS to advance “they will have to loosen a little things”.
The involvement of MLS in the Club World Cup was a great source of pride for the League. Even a day when the American national male team played the Gold Cup and two heavy goods vehicles from the East Conference met, the MLS official account posted eight times on Inter Miami’s shock with PSG. They wanted people to know.
But what do people really know MLS after the Club 2025 World Cup? That the league is still far from one of the best in the world? That the only team to have a real impact was the one who could call on the greatest player of all time to do everything by himself? It will take much more money to change it all.
