MLS was once considered the retirement league that old European stars would flock too, but it’s different now, and Andres Iniesta needs to know this.
Andres Iniesta has formally announced that his time at Barcelona is coming to an end, and the next step in his journey seems to have one of two options – MLS or China. Both of which are burgeoning leagues with distinct styles of play and perks, one of which may not be the fit that Iniesta is looking for.
It’s true that MLS once had that nasty distinction of attracting over-the-hill stars that excelled in shirt sales but little else. But it didn’t take long to realize that what Steven Gerrard said was pretty accurate – this is not a retirement league.
New York City FC, under the tutelage of Patrick Vieira, phased out Andrea Pirlo sooner than the Italian maestro would have liked and while he still maintained cult status, he was never able to gel with a league that simply did not allow for his style.
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MLS is a frantic-paced league. It is grounded in physicality and athleticism and when you stop and look at the playmakers in the league, the best of the bunch, you see a common theme – effort, determination, the willingness to deal damage as well as take it.
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That’s what Andres Iniesta would be up against. Iniesta is obviously no slouch, and he does more in the effort department than Pirlo, who is a stationary figure, but the fact remains that coming to MLS is not the walk in the park that someone who has spent his entire career bossing La Liga may be looking for.
In a top-heavy La Liga, Iniesta was allowed to ply his trade, as per the style of the Spanish top flight. He was not burdened by the stress and strain of risk every single week, like he will be in MLS, where anyone can win in any given week, and it doesn’t always look pretty.
What this comes down to is a matching of play-styles, and as much as I would love to see Iniesta suiting up in America, I would not be surprised if the difficulty of having to settle into a new, intense league did not gel with him.
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It also comes down to what Andres Iniesta is looking for. If he wants a new challenge, like Zlatan did, then he could make it work, because it will absolutely be a challenge. But if he is looking to continue on where he left off, this is not the right fit.