Why is Liga MX respected and MLS is perceived as a joke?

A multi-decade head start combined with self-hating American soccer fans

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MLS will surpass soon enough.

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From a youth academy standpoint, it already has, which is more of an indictment on Liga MX than anything considering the MLS academies just started crawling.

The leagues cup probably isn’t the best measuring stick bc of the format, more MLS teams, all matches in the US and straight to pens every draw.

Even then Monterrey knocked out the best team in MLS

They we’re absolute road warriors

In terms of bottom end teams MLS is easy on par with LigaMX

Like Broski said MLS youth development has passed LigaMX as they have stalled.

LigaMX used to keep most the quality Mexican players at home but that’s not the case anymore and it’s hurt the quality of the league.

MLS gets flack for its structure and how some of it keeps the league from being competitive. Also the quality of American player who stays in MLS isn’t very good.

It’s also in an identity crisis of what it wants to be. Most reasonable Americans want it cranking out young talent to go overseas and be that Brazil type league which isn’t a bad goal to set. The league puts no emphasis on bringing in quality defenders and holding/defensive midfielders.

Then you have Don and his followers who tell you it’s going to be a destination league and already one of the top leagues.

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The leagues cup probably isn’t the best measuring stick bc of the format, more MLS teams, all matches in the US and straight to pens every draw.

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What has Leagues Cup demonstrated to the world of soccer?

Don is saying what he needs to pump up valuations and get investors interested and excited.

I think having MLS be on par with the Argentine league (but with more parity) and to surpass Liga MX is a very reasonable goal for the next 5-10 years.

It will be hard to get much beyond that with the salary cap in place, even if it’s at higher levels.

I think the hope is to get MLS above the level of Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, and Argentina, and to not give up any ground to Mexico by the 40th anniversary.

That seems reasonable to me.

The answer to the OP’s question could be answered but it would take a book. Long story short, I think, is that we still have a stigma against soccer in this country, even among soccer fans (ie euro snobs), and people are reticent to give MLS its due, likely due to the inferior product compared to the top 5 euro leagues.

Liga mx is like the NFL of Mexico. Imagine what kind of product MLS could produce with LigaMX money. They’ve had an 80 year head start, $$$, and an entire country’s cultural appreciation for the sport so it’s not surprising that until recently they’ve produced a clearly superior product.

It all comes down to money and time. MLS has slowly but surely improved as a league with increasing salary cap, all the weird DP GAM TAM rules, buying young South American and European players who have made solid contributions, and the rapidly improving academy system providing cheap depth and in some cases very good starters (ie Caleb Wiley, Jesus Ferreira, Cade Cowell).

My understanding is that LigaMX is the cartel that many accuse MLS of being, with the owners and the league in cahoots to boost profits at the expense of the Mexican national team and development of youth players. FMF is heavily encouraged by LigaMX to select its players for el Tri. On top of it all they slap ridiculous prices on homegrown players so they never leave Mexico, stifling their development. If you visit r/LigaMX after a Mexico loss you will see these points made by Mexican soccer fans in every thread bemoaning the state of their team. Personally I’m happy with the direction MLS is heading. This tournament and the CCL prove that the gap between the two leagues is rapidly narrowing.

Pro/rel

I know it is suspended in liga mx.

But just having that is huge in my opinion.

Is it really a soccer league without it?

I think a year ago some posters on this thread said MLS would get blown out the water in leagues cup because Liga MX was just that much better. I see the goal posts have moved. And yes maybe travel hurt the Liga MX teams but welcome to MLS where teams travel different time zones regularly. There was home field advantage but also there was significant away support you wouldn't normally see in an MLs game. Between the poor form of El Tri and the amount of tournaments MLS teams are winning/making the finals now, Liga MX can be considered on par but slowly falling behind.

Another thing I got downvotes for was saying MLS is eclipsing the Argentine league. I mentioned how the nation was drowning in inflation and their league was a mess. Young Argentines even with moderate ability are being scooped up by leagues everywhere. Look at Libertadores and Sudamerica. Argentina is struggling bad. I don't think they will be able to hold off the incremental growth of MLS and that time may have already happened, just hard to tell since there is no cross play.

Lastly, I found some really interesting information about the future of European population. In a few decades their population is going to drop off a cliff and be in a major financial crisis. America is expected to keep growing due to immigration. Don't be surprised if by 2050 MLS has cemented itself as a major global league as the pyramids in Europe start to struggle to keep interest at the bottom tiers. The slow growth of MLS may still be better than stagnation and decline some Euro leagues will go through in a few decades.

Messi: MLS poised to catch Euro leagues

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"I think it has every opportunity to do so," Messi told ESPN's Luis Miguel Echegaray. "That growth depends a lot on the league. It's an ideal moment to grow. There are important competitions upcoming that will be played in this country [2024 Copa America, 2026 FIFA World Cup].

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"It's time for the league to make that leap and finish growing, finish looking for what it's been seeking for a while. Everything is in place here to witness top-level football because of the country, the structure, a bunch of things."

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And yes maybe travel hurt the Liga MX teams but welcome to MLS where teams travel different time zones regularly. There was home field advantage but also there was significant away support you wouldn't normally see in an MLs game.

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I would argue the Mexican teams were better supported in several games, Chicago and Houston for example. Even Nashville had a massive number of club america fans.

There is no way you actually believe all that

This tournament would have had a much different landscape is some of the matches were played in Mexico

Just playing at Club America, Cruz Azul and Pumas alone is a major factor. With the altitude and pollution.

Even the strongest MLS backers Eric and Tony said so on counter attack this week

Just because the dollar is strong doesn’t mean the owners are willing to spend it.

Top leagues need to produce talent and be big players in the transfer market. MLS is cheap and doesn’t and won’t compete for prime players in the transfer market. Despite the fact MLS is very expensive to attend matches(more than even most the EPL) a majority of the franchises don’t make a profit.

The league brings in older stars on free transfers, most the time it hasn’t been good business.