Philadelphia coach reacts to Inter Miami and Lionel Messi signing criticism after loss
Lionel Messi has shined a spotlight on MLS since his arrival, but it’s also put a lot of attention on Inter Miami due to their salary cap – although Jim Curtin isn’t against change
Inter Miami advanced to their first-ever final on Tuesday night, as new signings Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba were involved in a 4-1 win against Philadelphia Union.
Miami will face Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final on Saturday, a 47-team tournament between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX. The signing of Messi has completely changed Miami and they now look unstoppable, although his arrival has led to some criticism too.
MLS now has the greatest player in the world, and the exposure is doing wonders for the league that was already the fastest growing division on the planet. But unlike most leagues MLS operates under strict salary cap rules, something that Miami have been sanctioned for breaching previously.
Philadelphia head coach Jim Curtin was asked about the controversy after his team lost on Tuesday night, and said: “I think the league rules are going to change. And It should. … I think that’s coming.”
His thoughts echo Miami director Jorge Mas, who has already put pressure on MLS to rethink their ruling. Mas has pushed them to breakaway from the traditional structure used in American sports and follow the more conventional route for football around the globe.
Mas believes that if MLS relax or remove their cap all together it will allow them to compete with other leagues – and Union head coach Jim Curtin agrees. Despite being dumped out of the Leagues Cup at the hands of Messi and Miami, Curtin has backed Mas’s plea to MLS to alter the rules.
In MLS teams are allowed to sign up to three players as a Designated Player spot, allowing them to earn more money. Miami have those spots filled by Messi, Sergio Busquets and Josef Martinez, so when they signed Alba there were questions asked about how they were going to pay him.
Alba earned £15.6million ($20m) at Barcelona last season, while in MLS non-DP’s at Miami can make a maximum of £1.29m ($1.65m). The team are still under sanctions from when they signed former Paris Saint Germain and Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi, as he was signed as a non-DP but they paid him outside of the salary budget.
MLS is already facing an uphill battle to attract players due to their lack of salary space, and players currently moving to Saudi Arabia are often earning more than the entire roster at most teams in North America. For MLS to grow, Mas said to the media after a board of governors meetings in Washington: “Evolution is inevitable and change is likely. We all want this to be an elite league, we all want it to grow.”
It’s growing at a rapid rate, and MLS still operates a hybrid transfer structure as they still draft youngsters and allow trades between teams – just as they do in other major leagues. But to mix with the rest of the world the conventional transfer policy is in place, and Mas thinks they should chance the rules further.
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