Of course, there are guardrails in MLS to stop them from multiplying. Son and Muller (eventually) are on hefty Designated Player contracts. They are, in effect, paid top dollar by their clubs to simply exist in the league. And when owners spend big on one singular entity, cash is sucked away elsewhere. Vancouver and LAFC, in fairness, have done quite a wonderful job in building around the two. They are both the razor-sharp edges of accomplished teams.
But other sides aren’t so flexible or intelligent. Salary cap rules are good for parity, but they limit wallets – and sometimes restrict imaginations, too. Removing a limit altogether would be risky – and certainly lead to some competitive disadvantages if rich owners empty their pockets. But MLS does need to do something to allow for more big-name matchups. The league also has to push for a higher floor for its teams, as the disparity between the top spending teams and its modest ones is more dramatic than the NBA or NFL, for example. Messi, for example, makes more than 20 teams in MLS and Son makes almost as much as the entire team of CF Montreal, whose payroll comes in at $12.9 million.
The league’s decision to switch to a calendar that aligns with the top leagues in Europe should help in bringing more quality players to MLS. But ensuring that all clubs share in that ambition will be key.
And perhaps that’s all you need in this modern age, new signings coming to clubs, one at a time. Neymar might be next. Christian Pulisic is the post World Cup dream. And maybe, in 10 years time, there might be a clip of two superstars, grinning at each other before they take the stage in the biggest game of the year.