Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Robbie Keane, David Villa and, of course, David Beckham… they were all lured, at one point or another, to the United States with one thing in mind – growth. Primarily, every one of these signings was about catching the eye. It helped that these guys were pretty handy on the field too.
For so long, the path to building a successful team in Major League Soccer was through the signing of big names. The LA Galaxy, led by Beckham, Keane and Landon Donovan, won three of four MLS Cups between 2011 and 2014.