The Crew may not like losing their superstar, but MLS needs to keep developing and moving talent of his caliber
Sixteen million dollars seemed like a good price, all said. Yes, Cucho Hernandez is arguably the best player in MLS not named Lionel Messi. And yes, he was crucial to the MLS Cup hopes of the team that he plays in. But when the Crew reported agreed a deal to send their star man to Real Betis earlier this week, the return was compelling enough to justify the loss. Fans may not like it – who would want to lose their best player? – yet it all made quite a lot of sense.
Hernandez, let's face it, would likely far rather play in the football-crazed chaos of Spain than the midwestern industrialism of Columbus. He speaks the language. Betis play European football. Performing there – even in a bench role – would make him infinitely more likely to feature in Cololmbia's World Cup squad than starring in MLS; that's just how the world works.
More broadly, though, the Hernandez move is indicative of MLS's place in the global soccer market. It will likely never be a top-three league in the world. It might never be a top-five one, either. Instead, MLS has now become a bonafide talent factory. The pinching of its second-best player, and fourth-most marketable name might hurt those who fill the stands at Lower.com Field. For MLS, though, it only reaffirms that the North American top flight has a role to play in the soccer landscape. As the league continues to grow, that position will only become more defined.
IMGANThe case study
The first thing Brian Schmetzer talked about was winning. The second was the price tag of his most prized asset. At MLS Media Day, the Seattle Sounders coach outlined why, exactly, he was looking forward to coaching his side at the 2025 Club World Cup, due to be held in the United States. First, he was excited to test his team against top level European and Brazilian competition. The other appeal, though, projected to help the Sounders' bank account.
"Young Obed Vargas, let's just say he has a good game against Atletico Madrid. Does that make his market value go higher?" Schmetzer told GOAL.
The second part of that quote is the important bit. Vargas is, in fact, the exact kind of player European teams are after these days. At 19, he is young enough to be developed. Meanwhile, all of the traits of a top European midfielder are here. He is strong, a good defender, and composed on the ball. He isn't Seattle's best player – Jordan Morris would have a thing to say to that effect – but he is certainly their most valuable.
It would not be a surprise to see Vargas in the Spanish top flight or another top European league within a year. He could be playing European football in the Champions League or Europa League within three. Seattle sees a promising young footballer here. But they also see a massive market opportunity.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportSigning and scouting South America
There are very few places in global football that consolidate talent quite like MLS. These days, the league serves as a midpoint between the outer regions of South America unavailable to parts of Europe, and the top leagues that many of the fresh faces from there want to someday play in. It's an interesting spot. Some European clubs, of course, have niches. Brighton, for one, are unparalleled in their penchant for pinching Paraguayans and then selling them to other Premier League sides for way more than they are worth.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea are all well-connected in South America, and do well there. But for others, it's a market either out of focus or too big to explore.
And that's where MLS comes in. The league, to its credit, has shifted approaches over the years. The transfer market is cyclical, as NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee told GOAL:
"What has been proven is that there have been examples of players that have come to MLS in America and gone on to have successful careers in Europe," Lee said.
Of course, this is all relatively new. At first, the league did well in Scandinavia. At times, it has taken advantage of other spots in Europe. Meanwhile, there will always be a trickle of top European stars heading Stateside. Nowadays, though, South America is the spot, with talent from all over making its way to the league – on the promise that it can then be moved to Europe.
"MLS is a league that is growing day by day…I think South American players years ago went directly to Europe, and now there are a lot of South American players that are going to MLS, and after MLS, they are coming to Europe," Mallorca sporting director Pablo Ortells told GOAL. "So I think it's a league the clubs are beginning to monitor more than 10 years ago.
Getty ImagesMoving it on
The challenge for MLS clubs, though, is knowing when, exactly, to cash in. Atlanta United pulled off a masterclass in it all last summer. It was a strange season in Georgia. They parted ways with their head coach in Gonzalo Pineda midway into the season, really shouldn't have sniffed the playoffs, but then bounced Inter Miami from the playoffs.
In between all of that, though, they enjoyed one of the most successful outbound summers in league history. They sent Thiago Almada (Brazil), Caleb Wiley (England), and Giorgos Giakoumakis (Mexico) around the world, and netted a windfall north of $50 million. It was common knowledge that the trio were available – Almada had been linked with a move for years. Atlanta pulled the trigger at the right time.
Other clubs have pulled off similar feats. Jhon Duran – thanks to a sweet sell-on clause activated by Al-Nassr's exorbitant fee – netted Chicago Fire and MLS more than $30 million. Dallas got a handsome return for Ricardo Pepi. Atlanta did well for Miguel Almiron. New England made a fine cut on Djordje Petrovic. NYCFC did the same for Taty Castellanos. The same can be said for both Diego Gomez and, famously, Alphonso Davies – now considered the finest left-back in the world.
It must be admitted, at this point, that not all of those players have been immediate hits. Not all of them will pan out, either. But the narrative is clear here: the best talent in this league can be moved to Europe, at a good age, for a price tag of around $15m. That's no small feat.
Getty Images SportReinvesting well
This all very generously assumes, though, that clubs will be willing to reinvest.
The transfer market is a circular thing. You have to spend money to make money. If you do it well, you make a lot more money than you spend. The absolute best then reinvest the money made and piece together title-winning teams. Atlanta, over the course of the last seven months, has shown how that might just work out. First came Aleksey Miranchuk from Atlanta. His European days are likely over, but he was a game-changing signing. They also spent big on bringing Almiron back when it became clear that he was surplus to requirements at Newcastle.
The big name, though, is Emmanuel Latte Lah. Atlanta had money to spend and was relatively free of constraints thanks to the flexibility offered by designated player slots. They perhaps overpaid for the former Middlesborough striker at $22 million (a MLS record), but brought in a 20-goal-per-season talent using money they already had made elsewhere. There was talk that, even as the Latte Lah deal was under threat, they might go in for another forward. It was the perfect combination of intent and execution.
The same can be said of Cincinnati, whose signing of Kevin Denkey at the end of 2024 was at least, in part, funded by the sale of Brandon Vazquez to Monterrey last year – and the ensuing need it brought out.
But, equally, some clubs are notoriously gun-shy. Philadelphia Union, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, and Montreal have all been historically somewhat reluctant to reinvest the money made in player sales. There are, it must be conceded, limiting factors here. The Union, for example, trust in their academy, and would rather a breakthrough talent come into the first team than a pricey foreign signing. It's simply not their model. But for the most part, it seems an opportunity missed.
