Former Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón critical of Liga MX: what did he say?

The recent 2023 Leagues Cup seems to have confirmed what many of us have been thinking for a while: soccer is here to stay in the United States. Up until recently, basketball, the NFL and baseball have been considered the most popular sports in the US, with the round ball playing a much more prominent role south of the border in Mexico. Thanks to MLS, though, that has started to change.

Messi, Busquets and Co driving MLS forward

A whole host of stars - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bastian Scheweinsteiger, Steven Gerard, Wayne Rooney and now Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi - making the move from Europe across the pond has given the American top league a huge boost, to the extent that MLS is now seen as a stronger league than Liga MX by many knowledgeable onlookers, including former Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón.

Veron: “Liga MX is going backwards”

Speaking to FOX Sports, the former Inter, Manchester United and Chelsea schemer has revealed his belief that the two leagues are trending in opposite directions. “Liga MX is going backwards. The standard of Mexican soccer has dropped off a lot and I think soccer in the US is on the up, which can been with its clubs and the national team. There’s much more ambition to grow and be a force in soccer”, claimed Verón.

“A tough time” for Liga MX in the Leagues Cup

The 48-year-old also highlighted his view that Liga MX clubs really struggled in the Leagues Cup against superior teams from the US, illustrating that MLS had moved one step ahead.

“It seems to me that the Mexican clubs had quite a tough time. They came up against some really competitive teams and MLS has improved a lot in terms of its quality and its standing. I think Mexican soccer has suffered because of that”.

MLS dominates the Leagues Cup latter stages

Messi’s Inter Miami defeated fellow MLS side Nashville SC in the 2023 Leagues Cup final, with Philadelphia Union completing a US top three by defeating Monterrey in the third-place playoff. Rayados and Querétaro were the only Mexican sides to make it to the quarter-finals