Liga MX-MLS rivalry stoked by player movement

An objective fan must consider where MLS is better than Liga MX

Liga MX fans strenuously dismiss the suggestion that MLS is a better league, and the performance on the field to date bears that out.

Still, much of the serious debate argues that MLS does several things much better than does Liga MX, especially at the organizational and administrative levels. And that would seem to beyond repute.

Aguirre and Sánchez specifically said MLS has been more successful at global diffusion of their league. They never said MLS teams are better than Liga MX teams. Accusations of disloyalty are misplaced.

This success derives primarily from the solid organizational structure of MLS, its transparency and its above-board operations. Its salary-cap rules make for a more egalitarian system.

In Liga MX, you have a wide disparity in team payrolls. The two Monterrey-based teams and América have a tremendous budgetary advantage over smaller, provincial teams. Heading into the Apertura 2019, the Rayados’ payroll exceeded $71 million dollars (Tigres – $60 million; América – $55 million), while five teams (Necaxa, San Luis, Morelia, Puebla and FC Juárez) each spent less than $25 million on their roster.

The Apertura also witnessed the embarrassing scandal involving Veracruz whose owner had failed to pay wages for up to three months. The ensuing investigation revealed the club’s use of twin contracts, a technique designed to reduce or avoid the tax burden by understating the terms of the contract to the league office.

Tiburones owner Fidel Kuri argued that twin contracts had been around for years, complaining that nothing was done to other teams engaging in the same practice.

The MLS Players Association was founded in 2003 and it is charged with handling collective contract negotiations with the league.

In Mexico, the AMFPro is a players union in name only, primarily serving as window dressing despite the best efforts of its employees. Liga MX teams provide significant funding for the union, but the union’s ineffectiveness was rather clear during the Veracruz debacle last season when it was unable to unify its response to the dispute.

So, player security is another issue where MLS vastly surpasses Liga MX. In addition to the twin contracts and other financial chicanery, the annual player draft was a travesty with players being traded and discarded with little to no input. A gentlemen’s agreement among owners also served to blackball players who squabbled over their contract situation.

In 2017, FIFA and an international players union – FIFPro – helped modify the Liga MX “draft” so that it was no longer in violation of FIFA statutes.

Revenue sharing and the MLS business model also seem to give the U.S. league an advantage over Liga MX.

It is in these arenas that Liga MX backers must recognize the superiority of MLS. As for who has the better teams, Liga MX definitely owns bragging rights. But we’ll have to wait for the resumption of soccer to see how the leagues stack up going forward.