MLS vs Premier League: How Good Is Major League Soccer in 2023?
G'day tribe. Today is a football day for me (or soccer). The answer is obvious when it comes to MLS vs Premier League and which league is better. The MLS is a good league and is fast becoming one of the best soccer leagues in the world.
The MLS It isn’t one of the four major professional sports leagues in America - that’s still the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. The MLS does however average the third highest attendances of any American sports league.
Soccer is also fast moving up the ranks as one of the most popular sports in America having overtaken ice hockey.
Out of all the soccer leagues in the world just how good is the MLS and where does it rank?
Atlanta United had the highest attendance in all of the MLS this weekend with 42,516 fans. The next closest city was Charlotte with 33,323 fans. pic.twitter.com/sQobLcRjC5
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) May 16, 2022
How Popular is the MLS?
When we compare MLS vs Premier League, the EPL had an average attendance of 41,430 across 380 games in 2021/22. Across 489 games the MLS had an average of 20,526.
The EPL is one of the most popular leagues in the world in any sport so these numbers shouldn’t be discouraging for the MLS. In fact the MLS average crowd is just under the Brazilian Série A.
Average attendances in the MLS are better than the Mexican Liga MX, the Dutch Eredivisie and the Scottish Premiership. Back home in America the MLS has better attendances than the NBA and NHL, and is behind only the NHL and MLB.
In 2005 there were only 12 teams in the MLS and in 2022, Charlotte FC became the 28th franchise to join the league. That’s despite expansion fees rising from $10 million in 2007 to $325 million. There’s also a host of cities who are fighting it out to become the next MLS expansion team.
27 seasons of MLS and we’ve never seen a bigger crowd than tonight.
History made in Charlotte! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/StAIor488n — Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 6, 2022
MLS vs Premier League Players
When you compare players from the MLS vs Premier League, there’s no doubt that the best players in the world are playing in the EPL. Just take a look at the best players right now in the Premier League and the gulf in class couldn’t be more obvious.
The MLS however keeps on getting more popular with marquee superstars. When you look at the best MLS players of all time, names like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Villa and Robbie Keane show just how global the game is becoming and the star power the MLS can attract.
#OnThisDay in 2007, David Beckham was unveiled by LA Galaxy. 🇺🇸
The best player to play in MLS? 🐐 pic.twitter.com/q0HMW3rkVd — GOAL (@goal) July 13, 2019
Other players like Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard have also helped to bridge the gap between the MLS and Premier League. It's no coincidence that Major League Soccer attendances increased 34% between 2013 to 2018 with the calibre of players in the league.
MLS vs Premier League Rivalries
The biggest MLS rivalries on offer has helped to make Major League Soccer a top league in the world. The Battle of Cascadia between Seattle and Portland is one of the fiercest rivalries in American sports.
FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo battle out the Texas Derby, quite literally, with the winner taking home an 18th century howitzer cannon.
⚔️ @stuholden ranks his Top 3️⃣ @MLS Rivalries 🔥
Do you agree? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nnZllvzNfr — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 9, 2022
The Premier League is still the place for the biggest football rivalries, with Liverpool vs Manchester, the Merseyside, North London and Manchester derbies among the best rivalries in sport. Major League Soccer is bridging the gap though.
Is the MLS Better Than the Premier League?
OK, so realistically it’s a no contest. The Premier League is without a doubt better than the MLS. But don’t go totally writing off Major League Soccer just yet.
According to Global Football Rankings the Premier League is the strongest league in the world. Major League Soccer is ranked as the 15th strongest league in the world but continues to climb up the ranks.
Philadelphia Union are the strongest team in the MLS but according to the rankings, would be relegated if they were playing in the Premier League.
🏈 NFL 🏀 NBA ⚾️ MLB ⚽️ MLS
⚽️ Premier League pic.twitter.com/Msge8wAwXx — Sportico (@Sportico) January 26, 2023
So the top teams in the MLS wouldn’t be competitive in the Premier League yet, but they’re comparable with the top sides in the English Championship, the second tier of English soccer. They’d also be competitive in some of Europe’s top leagues including the Portuguese Liga and Dutch Eredivisie.
In terms of European competition the top MLS teams would be competitive in the Europa League, UEFA's second tier continental tournament, but would be out of their depth in the Champions League.
The weaker teams in Major League Soccer would be competitive in the English third tier of soccer and the second divisions of France and Italy.
How MLS Is Better Than Premier League
There's a long way to go for Major League Soccer to get anywhere near the English Premier League but MLS are making a mighty effort and are bridging the gap faster than ever. Here are five ways Major League Soccer is better than the Premier League:
- Most stadiums are more modern with more technology compared to English stadiums
- The MLS salary cap gives the league more parity whereas EPL teams have a greater wealth divide
- A league championship decider means the MLS reaches a climax each season
- There's no relegation in the MLS and teams are guaranteed survival at the top level
- The league has the ability to grow with the addition of franchise expansion teams
Have you seen the Atlanta stadia? Mercedes Benz Stadium, casa do Atlanta United, da Major League Soccer. pic.twitter.com/53op7ImP0z
— Celtic SC ©®™ (@Celtic67Fins72) January 24, 2023
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Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.
I think there are many advantages of the American way of sports. Like you mentioned the season climax as well as the constant competitors field without relegation. But this also means that the only thing to win is basically the trophy. In European football we see teams that are determined to not get relegated and celebrate their non-relegations more than other teams would celebrate a title. I think this is where all the passion is and why the European style will always have the upper hand :)
Yep thats a good point. I think the biggest barrier for MLS not having relegation is that the franchises pay huge fees to be in the league. I'm sure the fees guarantee that they'd never be relegated
I actually spoke about how football is on the rise in the US and there are more than a few reasons for the league and for that matter the national team to become better and better. The only issue that prevents it is the late peak of players which comes due to the youth system being very similar to that of basketball, so there are very few tournaments featuring Under whatever age vs counterparts as we see in Europe.
Like @ga38jem said as well, the lack of relegation. But, my reason isn't that per se, but the lack of divisions as that's where many players develop. The U.S. is more than big enough for us to find talents, but they definitely need a better development plan.
There's also the problem of timing. Not a lot of people credit EPL's success to this, but a big part is the times of the matches. I can't see myself waking up at 3 AM to watch Atlanta United vs San Jose. So, that will keep limited eyes.
Finally, I explained in an earlier post that there's limited time for advertisements compared to other sports. That will limit revenue.
Yep it depends where you are. In Australia I'm watching EPL at 3am. MLS is during the mid-morning which is not a bad time. That's a fair call about advertisements. I think they try to make up for it with the advertising boards on the sides of the pitch so its non-stop advertisements
Yep and I think the issue is that rookies are 22 years old?! Heck, Messi had four Ballon d'or awards at that age. It's hard because of how the college system is set up but the MLS needs a pathway, or rights or something like that early on in the piece