Robert Taylor is not one of the most popular players of the Finnish men’s national football team, or Huuhkajie, but in this national team window, he is perhaps the most asked of the team.
The Argentinian who was voted the best player in the world a record seven times Lionel Messi said that he would next move to the American club Inter Miami, in whose midfield Taylor also plays.
At the fan meeting organized in Tali on Monday, many wanted to know how Taylor feels playing with the best soccer player in the world.
– Don’t ask him about it, he’s tired of answering, Captain of the Huhkaji Lukas Hradecky threw to the group of boys with a laugh.
The group of journalists was also disappointed on Tuesday. Taylor arrived in front of the media, but the Finn’s mouth was closed to questions about Messi at the request of the club team.
But Messi is by no means the only reason why Inter Miami and MLS are also interesting in Finland.
The series attracts Finns, including young players, in an unprecedented way.
The most recent one has moved to the USA Leo Vaisänen, who moved to the ranks of Austin at the age of 25. Already played in the club Alexander Ring, who has been living in the United States since 2017. Teemu Pukin has been rumored to be moving to Minnesota United By Robin Lodi as a friend. In addition to them, Montreal Impact plays in MLS Lassi Lappalainen24.
But why is MLS now attracting players from Finland and elsewhere?
– The series has enormous potential. Players are certainly interested in joining a growing league, and MLS has grown tremendously in the last ten years. Many people are interested in seeing the world on the other side of the Atlantic, and the most important thing is always the economy, Urheilu’s expert, who himself played for DC United in 2015–2016 Markus Halsti sees
– If we think about salaries, at least some of the players coming from the Nordic countries have the opportunity to get very good financial compensation, which would be really difficult for the same player in leagues like the second highest league in Sweden, Denmark or Germany.
Taylor also cites the huge market potential of the series and financial reasons as the most important reasons.
– All sports around are big. They know how to do it really well. No need to lie, big players get a big salary and of course that attracts them.
Screamers Rasmus Schuller played in MLS representing Minnesota in 2017-2019.
– Then I got the urge to go there and I thought that maybe I wouldn’t get the same again. I grabbed it then, and I don’t regret it at all.
He also has good things to say about the series.
– It was a good and fun experience. MLS is a quality, growing league. The USA is one of the three hosts in the next World Cup, there is a big football boom going on there. The clubs and the league invest a lot in football, which attracts players. Many of us Huuhkas have moved there as well.
Lionel Messi was lured to Saudi Arabia with an astronomical salary, but the Argentinian star ended up in North America anyway. However, Inter Miami is not the only one paying Messi’s salary.
A superstar income consists of several sources: for example, Apple, which owns the MLS broadcast rights, has promised to direct part of the profits to the number one star of the series. Adidas, one of the biggest sponsors of the series, has promised part of the sales revenue.
It has been hinted in the media that even all MLS clubs can participate in the superstar’s salary negotiations. Messi’s contract has also been rumored to include the right to purchase the MLS team after his career ends – just like Inter Miami’s current co-owner With David Beckham was at the LA Galaxy.
To understand the pattern, you have to understand North American sports.
– The methods of operation are completely different from those in Europe. North American sports culture is really individual-oriented. They come to see the stars and they also get paid for it, Halsti begins.
– Individuals act as locomotives in a completely different way than in European football. I also encountered problems with it while playing. For example Andrea Pirlo was considered a failed signing as he did not score goals. He wasn’t the star player he was thought to be.
However, the Italian legend had become known mainly as a playmaker, not a goal scorer.
– In Europe, football is based more on team play, says Halsti.
A peculiar salary system
In MLS, the league office must approve all league player contracts. The series determines how much teams can spend on salaries. Salaries are also public.
However, the salary cap does not apply to DP (designated player), of whom each team may have three. The club can pay them whatever they want.
Halsti sees problems in the system.
– As I recall, the rules have been modified a little even in the middle of the season, in order to get certain DP players into the series: interesting, expensive players, playing in Europe. It’s wrong, but reflects the mood in North America, for better or for worse. The show is the most important thing, and it must be made as interesting as possible for consumers.
No cooling kit?
The women’s premier league NWSL is one of the best leagues in the world, but the North American men’s soccer league has traditionally been seen as a cooling off series.
Taylor, who is playing in his second season in North America, does not sign the claim.
– MLS is a tough league, the level of which clearly improves every season and the players get tougher. I’ve really liked being there, the midfielder assures.
Halsti says he understands where the series’ reputation as a cooling series comes from.
– It was even in MLS’s strategy when the series got a new boost in the early 2000s. They got old stars there on purpose. We wanted to increase interest, we wanted players to come and watch in order to get the audience interested, Halsti opens.
According to Halst, many of the top players moving to MLS would also have jobs available in Europe’s top leagues.
– The cooling doesn’t even reflect the football that is played in the series. Many of the players are really athletic and in the series we want to play fast-paced football, let’s go from end to end. From a player’s point of view, it’s the worst league to go to cool off.
According to the expert, it is difficult to find a European benchmark for MLS, but the 2nd Bundesliga and the English Championship are perhaps the closest.
Instead, Halsti compares the clubs’ framework to top European clubs.
– The facilities are really in order, we invest in them. As a player, I felt that it is really good to be in MLS. There is a lot of staff and we always try to give them the tools to be successful and do their best on the field.
According to Halst, especially the local players were also hard at work.
– They were always there an hour and a half before training. You didn’t just go to the training center to play billiards, you went there to work and develop.
When Halsti played in the series, MLS decision-makers seriously believed that MLS would become the most attractive league in the world by 2030.
The series is still far from that.
– The series will by no means be the number one series in 2030. But in the last ten years it has grown shockingly and will grow even more in the next ten years. I believe that the 2026 World Cup in the country will further strengthen the position of the sport in the country.
But how does moving to North America affect the careers of Finnish players, for example?
– Yes, it’s a fact that if you go to the Yankees, you will leave the map of Europe as a football player. But my own experience is that if you are a national team player, you are always under a certain magnifying glass in Europe, says Halsti, who moved from the United States to Danish Midtjylland.
Beckham’s club
Inter Miami is an interesting MLS club also because it is partly owned by the legendary David Beckham. Beckham paid 25 million dollars for his share and now the value of the club is more than 600 million.
Not everyone is convinced of Miami’s excellence. The respected The Athletic criticized will follow its management methods as early as 2021a year after the club had started playing in the MLS.
We created a brand, not a team, one of the insider sources interviewed for the story characterized.
This season, the club is at the bottom of the eastern division, and at the beginning of June, the head coach Phil Neville was allowed to leave.
Taylor admits that the season has not gone as hoped, but he has nothing to say about the team management.
– I think Inter Miami is a great club, I love being there. I don’t read stuff like that, it’s pointless.