Major League Soccer announced Thursday it would implement roster changes immediately to allow teams to welcome more stars like Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Los Angeles Football Club's Olivier Giroud and attract more young, promising players to the league.
Be prepared for MLS owners to be willing to spend money on free agent international stars and promising young talent, even if the transfer fees are exorbitant.
Essentially, MLS had heard complaints from coaches and players about playing Mexican LIGA MX teams in tournaments such as the CONCACAF Champions Cup and League Cup, which begins next Saturday.
This is a broader initiative that demonstrates MLS’ commitment to growing the sport in North America and promises an even more exciting and competitive future for players, clubs and fans.
“The new roster rules pave the way for clubs to sign world-class players and emerging stars, while also providing greater flexibility to invest in their overall roster,” said Todd Durbin, MLS executive vice president of player strategy and relations.
“We have a unique opportunity with the World Cup just two years away. These changes, along with others that may be implemented after 2025, will raise the standard of our league and increase engagement for fans around the world.”
MLS said the rule change was made following a comprehensive, data-driven process by the league and its Athletic Competition Committee, made up of club owners and sporting directors, as well as the results of a survey of more than 25,000 soccer fans across the United States and Canada.
What are the new MLS roster rules?
Going forward, every MLS roster will have six prime roster spots available to acquire or retain more world-class and up-and-coming players.
Teams will be able to use the slots for all three designated players and all three U-22 initiative players, removing the previous restrictions.
The total compensation and acquisition costs for the three designated players could exceed salary cap regulations, but players 22 and under can be signed with an unlimited acquisition cost that does not count against a team's salary budget.
Teams may also choose to add a fourth player under the age of 22 in place of the third designated player and would receive $2 million in general allocation funds to allocate as they see fit for the remaining players.
MLS teams will also be able to convert $3 million in total transfer revenues into general allocations to be used for further expenditures on player registration fees.
The rule changes went into effect Thursday.
How will the new rule changes affect MLS?
As well as attracting new stars and young talent, the rule change will give MLS teams more flexibility in building their rosters and investing in home-grown players.
The new rules will impact how clubs spend large amounts of money outside of their salary budgets and provide teams with the opportunity to transfer discretionary spending into the general spending pool.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino was a vocal supporter of the lineup changes made after the club was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup in April, when reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew lost to Liga MX's Pachuca in the final.
“Unless MLS relaxes various rules to allow for greater depth in terms of injuries and suspensions, Liga MX will continue to dominate,” Martino said.
“Still, I've always thought, both when I worked in Mexico and now in the US, that it's pointless to compare the two leagues. MLS still can't compete on the same level as Liga MX due to roster rules. I think the process will change and changes will be made in the short term.”
Inter Miami's Julian Gresel shared his player's perspective.
“I don't want to make excuses and I don't want to come here and say that's why we lost, but I think if you look at those two benches, it explains the situation pretty well,” Gresel said. “Hopefully MLS will take the appropriate steps to allow us to have a deeper roster in the future, give us a little more comparison and allow us to perform better in this competition.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLS roster rules: How teams sign international star talent
