Lionel Messi is the GOAT. Let's make that clear straight away.
But he's a long way away from being the MLS GOAT, despite winning the MVP award last season, and probably winning it this season, too.
Lionel Messi's best days were spent in Europe. This is clear as day, and Messi himself will probably admit this. MLS fans aren't blindsided by this accepted fact, as much as we appreciate seeing the GOAT spend this part of his career trying to grow the league.
And look, everybody knows Lionel Messi hasn't torn it apart like everybody thought he would. He's been good, he's been great even, but he's not been world-class.
One player joined MLS more recently than Lionel Messi, and it was arguably a better coup that not enough people gave it credit for.
Son Heung-min is a more impressive MLS transfer than Lionel Messi
Son Heung-min has absolutely stolen the limelight since joining MLS. The former Tottenham Hotspur star has made nine MLS appearances, scoring eight goals and providing two assists. You do the math, that's over a goal involvement in every game on average.
The beneficiaries? LAFC. The California-based team is leaving their rivals, the Galaxy, in the dust, and the late involvement from Sonny has only exacerbated this.
Son still has so much to give. His best days are certainly behind him, but he still has plenty of life. He could be a world-class MLS player for many years to come and do more for the league than Messi has done.
Son has a cult following. He is known as one of the most likeable players in football, and there's a reason why Tottenham was so thankful to keep hold of him for so many years.
The fact that an MLS side managed to sign a fresh European champion (albeit, the Europa League) is not given enough recognition. Make no mistake about it, Son has all the potential in the world to be a more influential signing than Lionel Messi was.
And that's not a dig at Messi, either. Messi has had a pretty remarkable season himself, even boasting a better goal involvement rate on average across more games than Son.
However, let's not overlook the fact that Son meant more to Tottenham than Messi meant Lionel Messi meant to PSG.
Messi is the better player, by a long shot, but Son is a much more impressive transfer.