It appears that Major League Soccer is starting to pay some of its players decent money, and with a new labour agreement this year, and the recent announcement that Don Garber has signed a new four-year contract to remain as commissioner, things are looking a little rosier for the league.
Each club is allowed to sign two designated players along with having the right to sign a third one if they can pay for it. The minimum wage has also risen to $40,000, but some players are raking in quite a bit more than that. These are the top 10 contracts as supplied by the MLS Players Union before Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez recently joined the New York Red Bulls:
1) David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy) – $6,500,000.04
The 25-year-old Englishman helped give the league credibility as he was still a hugely popular player when joining a few years ago. However, while Beckham has helped raise the profile of MLS off the field, he’s had a hard time doing the same on it, being held back by numerous injuries since landing in LA. The former Man Utd star’s torn Achilles tendon means he might miss this whole season, but it’s possible he’ll be back near the end of the campaign or the playoffs. When healthy, Beckham has played some fine football with the Galaxy.
2) Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy) – $2,127,777.78
Many fans rate 28-year-old American midfielder/forward Landon Donovan as the top player in MLS as well as in the country and it is sometimes hard to argue with them, especially after this summer’s World Cup performance. However, Donovan’s skills have attracted the attention of many other teams around the world and it’s not certain how long he’ll remain in MLS. His loan spell with English Premier League club Everton at the end of last season has Donovan eager to continue his career overseas. MLS may end up getting an offer for him that’s too good to refuse.
3) Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls) – $1,918,000.00
The 34-year-old Angel has definitely played well for New York since joining the club three years ago and has scored at a very consistent rate (56 goals in his first 88 games). The striker gets paid to score goals and he delivers. But while New York have a new stadium and are enjoying a good year compared to last season, the club isn’t selling as many seats as expected. The addition of Henry and Marquez might help change that and Angel will be expected to score even more goals now that he has a little help.
4) Julian De Guzman (Toronto FC) – $1,717,546.00
29-year-old Canadian star De Guzman was signed from Spain’s Deportivo de La Coruna by Toronto’s controversial manager Mo Johnston, but he hasn’t really lived up to his billing and his paycheque. Toronto need goals before defenders and De Guzman had yet to score one for his club by the start of August and that includes half of last season as well. While De Guzman is certainly not a bad player, it seems apparent Toronto are overpaying him as well as using up one of their designated player spots. In fact, De Guzman could just be the most overpaid player in the league.
5) Freddie Ljungberg (Chicago Fire) – $1,314,000.00
The 33-year-old Swedish international winger/midfielder was recently traded to Chicago from Seattle Sounders where he had provided class and experience. However, for some reason things went downhill this year and the Swede’s lack of goals and poor overall play prompted his trade. If things don’t pick up for Ljungberg in Chicago, he might hit the road after his contract expires.
6) Blaise Nkufo (Seattle Sounders FC) – $480,000.00
The Swiss international striker has only played a couple of games with Seattle as he spent most of the summer in South Africa at the world Cup. Nkufo has scored at a pretty good rate throughout his career so far, hitting the back of the net just over 200 times in about 400 games with clubs in Holland, Germany, Qatar, and Switzerland. If the 35-year-old can keep up with the pace of the league, he’ll be worth the money to Seattle.
7) Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution) – $475,000.00
Joseph is considered the best defensive midfielder in the MLS by many. Few would argue that the 32-year-old is not worth his salary and the Grenada international is widely considered New England’s best player. He covers a lot of ground and knows how to handle the ball with skill.
8) Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution) – $459,500.00
Twellman knows how to put the ball in the back of the net, as evidenced by his 101 goals in his first 174 games for New England, but the 30-year-old suffered from concussion and neck problems and hasn’t played much since last year. He will miss this entire season this time too due to injury concerns.
9) Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC) – $443,750.00
The 32-year-old attacking midfielder carried the club on his shoulders at the start of this season, but both have now come back to earth. The Canadian has the ability to turn a game around with his scoring prowess and is a lot more valuable to Toronto than fellow designated player Julian De Guzman, who makes about four times as much as De Rosario.
10) Brian McBride (Chicago Fire) – $403,333.33
Former Fulham striker McBride may be 38 years old, but he can still cut the mustard. McBride hasn’t done too badly with Chicago, scoring 16 goals in his first 46 games. Capped 96 times for the United States, McBride has done well for his age and works hard, but Father Time will eventually catch up with him and it looks like this will be his last season in MLS.
