Photo: Katharine Lotze/Getty Images
After an intense month for the development of the Leagues Cup, Comparisons between Liga MX and Major League Soccer are more alive than ever. This tournament served for many analysts to highlight the rise of American teams. The ex-footballer landondonovan considers that the US clubs outperformed the Mexican teams.
The Leagues Cup destabilized several Mexican teams. Big clubs from Liga MX like Chivas de Guadalajara, Águilas del América, Club León and Cruz Azul they largely disappointed by their early eliminations from the tournament. The dominance of the MLS clubs fueled the comparisons between the two tournaments and Donovan lends a right hand to the US teams.
“In my opinion, in the last three, four or five years it has changed and for me the MLS teams are a little better. The competition is good because Liga MX was always better and now it is good if they compete like this. In my opinion I think that the reason (for the growth) is that everyone wants to play here, in any city but in the United States, before the competition was low and the money too. Now, there is a lot of money and the competition is much better, If it goes on like this, I think all the best in the world, maybe in five or seven years, they’re going to want to play here.Donovan said in an interview for Apple TV.
The podium of the competition shows the poor performance of the Mexican clubs. Inter Miami won the League Cup, Nashville was the runner-up team and third place was in the hands of Philadelphia Union. Only Rayados de Monterrey made it into the top four of the competition.
The influence of Lionel Messi
“Captain America” also highlighted the success of the Leagues Cup in terms of exposure and follow-up. Landon Donovan attributed this positive development to the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. The former USMNT soccer player believes that “La Pulga” has already made David Beckham’s team a better team and that now he will have to endorse it in the MLS.
“I didn’t think it was going to be so big so early (the Leagues Cup), I thought that in five or seven years but from the first minute, possibly, because Messi is there. He has surprised me how he is playing, I thought that people and the press were talking about everything that has happened but it has totally changed his team, It is already the best team in the league, we will see when the MLS starts again”, he added.
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