The Major League Soccer season kicks off in February as the North American division sees its 25th season start. The Seattle Sounders are the reigning MLS Cup winners having appeared in three of the last four playoff finals, winning two.
MLS will see two expansion franchises join the league as Nasville SC and Inter Miami kick off. Inter Miami are owned by former Manchester United, Real Madrid, and LA Galaxy superstar David Beckham and the club’s pockets are deep.
Despite Beckham and his ownership group’s finances, MLS is not an easy league to win. MLS’s format means the most expensively assembled and best team overall does not always win the MLS Cup.
The MLS regular season sees the overall points leader claim the Supporters’ Shield but it isn’t until the end of the league’s playoffs when the MLS Cup is awarded. It is that trophy that is the most desired by the now 26 clubs in MLS.
Since MLS started in 1996, only seven teams have won the Supporters’ Shield and gone on to win the MLS Cup. Los Angeles FC won the Supporters’ Shield last season and will hope to do one better in 2020.
Although there have been a lot of rumours of top players joining MLS clubs from Europe, there has been few big names sign up this winter. The players that have moved clubs may not be headline grabbing, but they are players that could turn their new clubs into title winners.
Transfers away from MLS have grabbed more headlines than those players arriving in the league. Los Angeles Galaxy will play the 2020 season without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who moved back to AC Milan.
Wayne Rooney left DC United to join Derby County. The Englishman played just a season and a half before moving to the Rams. DC United agreed his transfer seeing that his £50,000-per week contract wasn’t worth what they received on the pitch or in the stands.
The summer will give MLS clubs the opportunity to lure players to North America following the completion of the top-tier leagues in Europe. Some of the players rumoured to arrive in MLS in the summer are Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, and David Silva.
So, how will the MLS season unfold? The league never seems to go the way anyone expects and picking an MLS Cup winner is never easy. What can be guaranteed is the MLS have a marathon season with plenty of twists and turns.