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In any other Major League Soccer offseason, Jack McGlynn probably would have gone to Europe. Ready to take the next step in his career as one of the best young American midfielders in the league, he wouldn’t have had any other realistic option. This offseason, though, the landscape shifted; McGlynn ended up in Houston instead.
The Dynamo utilised a new mechanism introduced by the league last month to sign McGlynn for an initial $2.1m in what is now called a ‘cash-for-player’ trade. This same mechanism was used for FC Cincinnati’s $5m deal sending former MVP Luciano Acosta to FC Dallas, and also Sporting KC’s capture of striker Dejan Joveljić from the LA Galaxy for $4m. “Without the new mechanism it’s very, very, very unlikely that Dejan would have been with us,” said SKC sporting director Mike Burns.
Related: FC Dallas completes $5m swoop for former MLS MVP Luciano Acosta from FC Cincinnati
These moves go against a tide that had been swelling in MLS, with the current carrying away many of the league’s best players. Thiago Almada left Atlanta United last summer for Botafogo (and ultimately Lyon through a multi-club pipeline). Diego Gómez joined Brighton from Inter Miami while Cucho Hernández departed the Columbus Crew for Real Betis on deadline day.
Of course, this has long been the conventional career path for MLS’s best, most promising players. Before Almada, Gomez and Cucho there was Miguel Almirón, Taty Castellanos and countless homegrown players who used MLS as a springboard to reach the elite level of the European game. Each of these deals has netted the clubs and the league significant revenue, in addition to improving worldwide perception of MLS’s quality. It has been in MLS’s best interests to become a selling league.
Now, though, the new ‘cash-for-player’ trade mechanism, as well as the U22 initiative and homegrown player rule, has opened up all sorts of pathways for MLS players and teams. MLS will continue to funnel talent into the European leagues, but there will also be more moves like Joveljić and McGlynn’s.
This rule change could end up being one of the most significant since MLS introduced the Designated Player. That was in 2007 – so long ago it was originally dubbed ‘The Beckham Rule.’ To this day, the DP rule is the most effective way for teams to recruit international-level players. The ‘cash-for-player’ rule now makes it more possible for those players to stick around the league for longer.
Until now, there was no intra-league transfer market to speak of, at least not in the conventional sense. Teams could trade for allocation money (GAM and TAM), which flew around MLS in a way few truly understood. There was a high barrier of entry for anyone looking to engage with MLS transfer gossip in the way fans of other leagues around the world do freely. It was, and still is to a certain extent, algebra.
Transfer gossip has become a sport in its own right. The constant swirling of speculation drives interest in players, teams and leagues like nothing else, and at all times. It’s why Fabrizio Romano has 90 million social media followers. MLS’s convoluted roster rules and trade restrictions has always made the league’s transfer gossip hard work. ‘Cash-for-players’ could help.
Related: USL announces intention to start new league at same tier as MLS
MLS might not have made the sweeping changes to the roster rules many called for after Inter Miami’s landmark signing of Lionel Messi two years ago, but the recent alterations certainly affords teams greater flexibility. That is to be welcomed even if the salary budget remains the main limiting factor on what clubs can and can’t do in their roster construction.
As leagues around the world struggle to balance growing inequality between the richest clubs and the rest, MLS is right to maintain a sense of parity. This is an increasingly valuable point of difference at a time when the Bundesliga has been won by the same club in 11 of the last 12 seasons and Manchester City have dominated the Premier League for the last decade or so.
The ‘cash-for-player’ mechanism won’t necessarily result in stronger teams, but it could do more to spread talent across MLS. The NFL and NBA have broad leaguewide appeal in part because just about every team has at least one superstar. By making it easier for teams like Sporting KC, a team that finished second-bottom of the Western Conference last season, to attract players like Joveljić, one of the best pure strikers in the league, MLS has edged closer to achieving something similar.
The real impact of the ‘cash-for-players’ mechanism won’t become apparent for another couple of seasons. Across the league, general managers and front offices are still deciphering how the rule change will affect their roster builds and plans for the future. The early movements, however, suggest most clubs plan on using it in some way.
For players, the benefits are obvious – those who are signed using the new mechanism are entitled to 10% of the transfer fee. They also have more freedom to improve their situation in a soccer sense. McGlynn, for example, was an awkward fit for the Philadelphia Union’s high-pressing style. In Houston, though, he has joined a team that will play to his strengths on the ball.
“This is a step towards bringing MLS’s player movement standards in line with international norms,” a MLS Players Association spokesperson told The Athletic.
There have been more of those steps lately; the league has shifted the summer transfer window to align with the English and European window. ‘Off-roster homegrowns’ will also have a clearer pathway from MLS Next Pro thanks to another rule tweak.
Deals like the ones involving Joveljic and McGlynn, however, could reshape MLS. There’s now nothing to stop Real Salt Lake bidding for Messi.