Messi isn’t enough for MLS to be the big league America deserves after USMNT’s World Cup summer
Major League Soccer will never have a better opportunity than this.
Which means that if MLS can’t turn a hot World Cup and the constant presence of Lionel Messi in Miami pink into a lasting American success, soccer will never make it big in the United States.
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The USMNT World Cup ends handball in MLS
What’s happening right now with packed NFL stadiums and millions of proud fans hopping from Los Angeles and Seattle to Boston, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City is amazing.
The much-hyped 2026 World Cup has exceeded expectations and already set an attendance record, despite Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT side beating Belgium 4-1 on Monday in the final.
But where does soccer (aka soccer) go from here in the United States?
That’s a question that should already be buzzing in the halls of MLS headquarters, as England prepares for a huge quarterfinal match against Erling Haaland and Norway, and defending World Cup champion Messi aims for the 2026 Golden Boot.
“We went further than I could have imagined in 1994,” Tab Ramos, a starting midfielder in the USMNT’s 1994 World Cup squad, told talkSPORT exclusively.
“Yes, we still have a long way to go because, traditionally, we are not a soccer nation, so far. I can name six other sports that are more important in the US than soccer even today, as we speak. But we have come a long way and we should be happy about that.”
The USA’s best players will return overseas
Folarin Balogon became a hero of the USMNT before suddenly becoming the center of an international controversy that combines sports, power and politics.
But the London-born striker plays for Monaco in his professional career and has been linked with a move to Brighton, Leeds United, Coventry City or Hull City.
All four of those teams compete in the Premier League, which is the best football league in the world when the World Cup is not on television.
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Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson also have English or European football connections as they don their glorious red and white Stripes jersey for the final time at the 2026 World Cup.
Even the addition of Messi didn’t elevate MLS to the big game in America, where it’s still hard to find full-time coverage on ESPN and rarely discussed on US sports radio.
“You can bring in Pep Guardiola. It won’t change that,” Brad Friedel, former USMNT goalkeeper and long-time Premier League player, told talkSPORT exclusively while discussing MLS growth and remaining obstacles.
“The program can change a little bit. But the culture, it’s the kids, the ambition, thinking, ‘This is my way.’ “
The annual revenue of the MLS for 2025 is estimated at $1.8 billion, while the Premier League received about $9bn.
Beckham and Rooney didn’t push MLS to the top
Big-name signings including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry and Son Heung-min highlight the gradual rise of MLS, which now includes 30 teams and is years ahead of its initial form after the 1994 World Cup.
“If you think about the last World Cup that was played in the US, it gave birth to MLS,” USMNT and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards told talkSPORT exclusively.
“Maybe that’s the reason why my father let me pick up football or why my mother let me pick up football when I was young.”
Where is MLS going now?
Major League Soccer was born with the World Cup in 1994 in the USA.
Former USMNT and Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel spoke exclusively to talkSPORT to discuss the rise of MLS – and his concerns for the future of the league.
Friedel in MLS: “It’s grown and grown better. My concern is this with MLS – actually MLS, USL, it doesn’t really matter. My concern is that the viewing figures are not growing … the Apple TV deal has been struggling. It’s well written, although at first they wanted to sugar coat it. If they don’t get a television contract that pays at least where the teams’ salaries come, the cap for the teams comes where the teams’ salary comes, the cap for the team’s commercials, and the commercial cap. just say, ‘Enough,’ to the loss of all, because it is one organization.
“So if Inter Miami does really well, they have to share in the loss of the league, so everyone still loses. Now other clubs might do it, if you’re in LA. And Seattle, I think, is doing very well. … Some of them might do well with other events in their stadium, so they might have a side business to make money. But no one, so, so the last money for soccer is there. Years? It’s going to go down — unless they get a rights deal media, everything will be fine.
“But I’m really worried because the media companies are not stupid and they support the viewing figures. And if the viewing figures are not there – that’s why I think everyone hopes that this World Cup will bring it again. The Club World Cup, they hope it will increase. You have the Olympic events, they hope they increase it. The Women’s World Cup, and they hope, they think, they close the real door again. The problem they talk about.”
But the NFL ($22.5bn), NBA, MLB, college football and college basketball easily eclipse MLS, and many of the league’s signings have occurred late in players’ careers.
They monetize their global names, build their brands in the US and increase their playing time.
For Friedel, capital is one of the main factors holding back the growth of MLS as a whole.
The Messi Effect is limited to a crowded sports environment
“I looked at the (Los Angeles) Dodgers recently, it was a million ($420) in their salary cap,” Friedel said.
“The highest price in MLS is Inter Miami which is $54 million. But like $30 (million) of that for Messi, right? Most of the teams are close to $20 to $25 million. And some teams go down to $15 million, but they all lose money because there is no TV contract.
“The reason the Dodgers have such a salary payment is because of their media rights agreement. The same in the NBA, the same in the NFL. And the average salaries in the MLS got the biggest, but they are still the smallest of all sports by a long way.
“So you haven’t grown up like a kid — you just turned 10 years old and now you’re reading sports articles on your tablet or whatever. You’re not reading about an MLS player who just signed a six-year, $220 million contract. You see that in every other sport. So you’re automatically drawn to that.
Coming to America
“I don’t know in my lifetime if I’ll ever see a change. I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.”
MLS and Apple TV agree a 10-year, $2.5bn broadcast rights package through 2022.
But the deal is now set to expire three-and-a-half years earlier than expected.
The adoption of the European season schedule in autumn-spring 2027 should also help the growth of MLS, as well as the attempt to break the market in the pursuit of a contract for the best football talent in the world.
MLS needs to raise its international game
“Alignment with the European calendar means a lot, definitely for the players, to bring players and transfer players abroad and the tournament,” LA Galaxy president and COO Tom Braun exclusively told talkSPORT reporter Ben Jacobs during the World Cup.
“So I think from a global perspective, it’s going to be something that will have a real impact. Not just for the team on the field, but for the business as well.”
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But not even watching Messi — the GOAT in soccer history — at night across America has pushed MLS to the forefront of the USA sports conversation.
The 2026 World Cup did that in one hot month, and soccer has never been more popular from California to Florida.
The real question is what MLS will accomplish when the brilliant World Cup ends on July 19.
The USMNT is done in 2026 but the fight for better soccer in the USA is just beginning.
“MLS from (19)95 has grown in areas that other leagues cannot grow, because they have been developed,” said Friedel.
“The infrastructure, the sports fields, the training fields, the playing departments, the organization of the facilities. The education of the coaches is much better. The coaches are better.
“The places that haven’t really changed – well, they changed a little bit, but not to the point of making a big difference. And this is not the fault of MLS. This is the United States. This is the culture of the United States.”
WhatsApp World Cup
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This is where you’ll find all the new rules to watch out for, England and Scotland reactions and player ratings for the big game.
And there will be plenty of debate on the big talking points as Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and the biggest names in football descend on America, Canada and Mexico.
