The ex-Argentina international believes the 2023 Leagues Cup shows MLS has moved a step ahead of the Mexican top division.
Sebastián GómezSebastianGomRosRoddy ConsRoddyConsCiudad de MéxicoUpdate: Aug 22nd, 2023 05:20 EDT
JUAN MABROMATAAFP
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.
? @InterMiamiCF are your #LeaguesCup2023 champions! ? pic.twitter.com/jptXqLAJpv
— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 20, 2023
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.
