Also countries where soccer is religion and always has been for almost a century if not more. Brazil and Argentina also sell players to Europe and the majority of their teams don't play domestically.
The Argentine league is really suffering because the second a player shows a modicum of talent he's sold abroad. That includes to the North American leagues like Liga MX and MLS. The quality of play in the league has really suffered. But the Argentine national team is going strong because of the developmental pipeline in Argentina. Its fine that American prospects of the Cavan Sullivan, Mathis Albert, Julian Hall, Jude Terry, Chase Adams, KK Spivey etc. category all leave. But they can't leave until they're 18 or 16 (with a European passport). Until they're able to leave, they have to maximize their developmental opportunities with the Union, LAG, NYRB. LAFC, Columbus, San Jose, etc. I read a 4-4-2 article once about development in Holland. What years are considered the most important "formative years" in the development of a Dutch soccer player? That article said 11-13. The work in MLS and USL academies is a CRUCIAL for the success of the USMNT. We're not going anywhere without it. You really CANNOT be a fan of the USMNT without ALSO wanting MLS and the USL to excel. Its incongruous. Unless one thinks we'll just build a USMNT with German and English dual-nationals.
The biggest problem with the Argentina league is the economy of the country. Hard to keep a player that can make much more outside the country and live a better lifestyle. At the same time it's one of the reasons MLS isn't a top league as it's hard to keep a player that can make more playing in Europe. Brenden Aaronson makes over 2 million playing in the second division of England and also the money he got from transfer fees. Until a league can make it hard to pick where to play without wages being somewhat equal, it just makes financial sense for a player to move.
We can have a different conversation about Argentina. FYI, I think we will see them suffer more after Messi reties. My issue or question is why don't MLS teams give youth players minutes? After the 2003 age group. How many players are starting in the playoffs? If MLS wants to be a good league they need to raise the floor. MLS should trust their youth players more
Inter Miami featured 7 players 22 and under on Saturday. How many should they field and how many points should they be willing to sacrifice?
True story. The same number of players under the age of 18 appeared in Week One of MLS than have appeared the entire season in the Bundesliga. [Noahkai Banks is the 3rd youngest player to appear in the Bundesliga this year. He did so right after he turned 18.] Last year 35 players under the age of 19 appeared in MLS games. Not just 20. 35 under the age of 19 when they appeared. The oldest of those was Esmir Bajraktarevic, who later transferred to PSV. Sometimes I wonder if people on this board watch European soccer leagues and see tons of teenagers playing in the games. MLS stacks up very well in this regard. Statistically. Its an easy analysis to do.
The thing is he couldn't make it without leaving. Take Quinn Sullivan, he's 20 years old and made 154K last season having a breakout season. If he scores 15 goals this year with 16 assist, the Union don't have a DP spot and someone would offer to buy him from a top league in Europe where he would make a lot more. Now change it to 10 goals and 4 assist and he's still probably moving because the Championship and a boat load of teams with money in other countries can pay more like Mexico, Brazil and smaller European leagues. Until MLS can let the Union compete with this next level there no chance you can have him choose between 1.6 million or moving and making 1.75 million in Mexico. If they could he might decide to stay here for a little less.
It's up to the managers to pick the best team available and the GM's to decide the strategy for the club.