US or Europe?

Why do all the best soccer players from America leave the MLS and go play overseas? Of course, it’s all about the money. When Freddy Adu signed with D.C. United as a 14 year old kid he became the highest paid player in the MLS, with a $500,000 guaranteed contract. Since then Landon Donavon, the proclaimed “Golden Boy” of US Soccer who has become tarnished, signed a deal making him the highest paid player with his $900,000 salary. The lowest base salary happens to be one of Adu’s teammates Andy Metcalfe who makes a measley $11,000 a year. I would be willing to be you could make more than that working at McDonald’s.

In the 2003-2004 season in the English Premier League the average player salary was 900,000 pounds (about $1.7 million). That’s twice as much money as Landon Donovan is making in the US. I guess that he must have his priorities in a different order than most humans to be passing up that kind of money to stay in the US and play in the MLS. But we see most top American players doing what most people would do and chasing the money overseas. It won’t be too long until Freddy Adu is gone and the MLS will have to find a new media target.