Which rivals does Lionel Messi face? X-ray at MLS, the new Flea tournament

Lionel Messi is a born winner. The Argentinian star won his first trophy since arriving in North American football after an intense penalty shootout between Inter Miami and Nashville , which has positioned him in the discussion of who is the most successful footballer in history. In turn, obtaining the League Cup was an unprecedented coronation for the very young club located on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

The arrival of the captain of the Albiceleste, in full stop of the league to play the tournament, where teams of LigaMX also compete, caused a resounding change. Miami has been revolutionized, both in the city and in football. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Martino the latter from the bench, joined the ambitious project led by businessman Jorge Mas and former footballer David Beckham . Thus, they obtained the first title in the short history of Inter, founded in 2018 and which only began to compete in 2020.

Now the Garzas must return to MLS. However, they don’t have a good run in the contest. Before the Transandin landed on American soil, the club was in last place in the Eastern Conference, with 18 units in 22 games. However, Despite the level displayed by the team, the additions were sufficient to prevail against the American and Mexican teams. .

Messi showed an abysmal difference to the rest of his rivals, leading his team in the most decisive moments . For example, on his North American debut against Cruz Azul, he gave his team victory after scoring a brilliant goal from a free kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time. In the final, he scored the goal that gave them access to penalties. In detail, he has ten goals in seven games, in addition to an assist.

In his debut, he scored once, such as against Charlotte, Philadelphia and Nashville, the latter in the final stages of the tournament. Additionally, he had three straight doubles against Atlanta, Orlando and Dallas. Obviously, rivals who maintain a level far removed from that to which he was accustomed.

Messi and Inter Miami will also face another tournament: the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup , also known as Concachampions. They accepted the confederation tournament, which will take place next season, after reaching the League Cup final.

The Transandin will have a difficult mission in a championship which has been elusive for the American teams, since they have only managed to be crowned three times. : DC United (1998), Los Angeles Galaxy (2000) and the most recent Seattle Sounders (2022). However, Mexico has clear hegemony and adds 38 titles . The biggest winners are América, seven times, Cruz Azul, six times, Pachuca and Monterrey, five times each. The United States is not even the second most successful country, since Costa Rica has six trophies.

However, for now, they will have to find their way back after a depressed MLS regular-season performance. It’s no exaggeration to think that the Garzas, before the Argentine star’s revolution, were the worst team in the league. At least, from an objective point of view, they are the ones who have achieved the worst performance, since they are the ones who accumulate the fewest points in the two Conferences, with 18. Toronto of the East wins by one, accumulating 19, the same amount as Colorado of the West.

American league teams don’t have outstanding performances outside of MLS. It will take until 2022 for the Seattle Sounders to end a more than two-decade titleless drought. This, yes, It is worth mentioning that they are becoming more and more relevant within the Concachampions, participating in the final instances.

In this direction, the tournament continues to grow. However, the country’s economy is reflected in the coffers of the league. According to data from the specialized site Transfermarkt, the MLS, with a value of 1.25 billion euros, is the eighth most valuable championship in the world . Ahead are the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, La Liga Portugal and Brasileirao. In fact, the latter is the only one on the continent to prevail. In this way, It surpasses in value tournaments such as the Turkish Süper Lig, the Dutch Eredivisie or the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, in Europe. Also, it trumps the Saudi Pro League, which is by far the most valuable in the rest of the world.

Its economic policies are, more than a curiosity, typical of American sport but far from the world of football, attractive for certain footballers. The hiring system is that each salary is paid by the league, which sets a salary cap to distribute across campus. This, yes, there are three exceptions who are chosen as “franchise players”, so that they can negotiate a contract that exceeds the limits of the salary cap . In 2014, the average salary was $138,000 per year per player, less than half of what it was in 2019. Today, each team must split salaries at $5.2 million (without count deductibles), which reflects the increase.

Economic growth has allowed the arrival of various personalities to the competition. At the time, players of the caliber of Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerard, David Villa, Didier Drogba and David Beckham himself arrived. More recent is the addition of Gareth Bale, who retired at the end of last season. They are no longer active but players like Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Vela, Chicharito Hernández, Douglas Costa, Ferderico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne or Xerdan Shaqiri are still present. These last two were, until the Miami revolution, the highest paid in the tournament.

Of course today the highest salary is held by Messi, who will earn around $54 million per season. Furthermore, by contract, it will have a series of obligations, television and commercial rights, which will allow it to increase this important figure. Busquets, for his part, adds US$10 million.