It’s unfair to call the current MLS a retirement home for European soccer stars. The league has finally started to gain traction now that a generation that grew up on soccer is coming of age, but there’s still work to be done.
Looking at the news that Wayne Rooney will be leaving the Premier League to join the MLS as a negative is a wrong way to look at it. Rooney, who was a superstar in Europe during the peak of his career, is coming to America as a 32-year old afterthought. He spent just one season with Everton after spending the bulk of his stardom with Manchester United and now moves to DC United on a three-year deal worth $10 million a season.