soccer
Tigres boss Miguel Herrera: MLS is light years ahead of Liga MX
Following the announcement of the new Leagues Cup, Tigres boss Miguel Herrera has claimed Liga MX is nowhere near the level of MLS
In the week that we discovered how the new Leagues Cup – a summer competition which will begin in July 2023 and will feature 47 teams from MLS and Liga MX – will work, Tigres manager Miguel Herrera has talked about the gulf he perceives between the two leagues, claiming that Major League Soccer has expanded at such a pace that Liga MX is now nowhere near the same standard.
Herrera was hopeful that the tournament could go to show that Mexican clubs were able to compete on the field with their American counterparts but was keen to stress that they were not operating on a level playing field, citing MLS’ finances and ambition to compete with the top European leagues as the reason for the disparity.
Tigres boss Miguel Herrera: Liga MX can still compete with MLS on the field
“Although some clubs will use the tournament as a form of pre-season, others will understand that it’s an opportunity for them to represent the Mexican league and show that it’s superior to MLS on the field.”
“Just when we think that we have to try to compete with MLS, which is a huge mistake, MLS is light years ahead of us. They want to overtake the Spanish, Italian and English leagues, they don’t even think about the Mexican league. Although I think we’ll still manage to win some games and compete on the field.”
Herrera: MLS clubs have more power than Liga MX clubs in every sense
“They can go and buy a player from Argentina for $25m or $30m and they’ve got three of four of these Designated Players. They have more financial power than us and more power in every sense. Any franchise, even a new one, in their league costs $100m. I don’t think there are more than six clubs in Mexico that are worth more than that.”
Whether the financial disparity between clubs in the two countries plays out on the field remains to be seen when the Leagues Cup gets underway, but Herrera’s words could perhaps serve as a rallying cry for Liga MX clubs to prove that the gap is not as big as the Tigres boss claims.