How does MLS's record-breaking spending compare to Europe's top leagues?

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

For the fourth consecutive year, Major League Soccer has shattered its annual spending record.

The top division of American soccer has enjoyed mostly steady - and at times even rapid - growth over the past two decades, which has heavily influenced the domestic and global transfer market.

The creation of new and increasingly ambitious clubs has allowed MLS to take qualitative leaps forward. In the late 2000s, the LA Galaxy stunned the world with the acquisition of David Beckham.

In the early- and mid- 2010s, several high-profile American stars returned home, with the Seattle Sounders signing Clint Dempsey and free-spending Toronto FC adding Michael Bradley.

In the late 2010s, it was the turn of newly-formed Atlanta United and LAFC to splash the big bucks, while Inter Miami have been the undisputed top dog - at least financially - in the 2020s, and particularly since eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi joined in 2023.

MLS shatters spending record

But MLS isn't just prolific when it comes to buying players. Indeed, far from being the retirement league it is often portrayed as, the division has become one of the prime non-European exporters of top-level talent in the world.

Lucas Herrington and Zavier Gozo have headlined this summer's departures, completing record-breaking moves to Hull City from the Colorado Rapids and to Crystal Palace from Real Salt Lake, respectively.

MLS has become an attractive hunting ground for European clubs because it operates in a sort of liminal space. It produces high-level players, but it is not necessarily recognised as a traditional top league.

Moreover, MLS's internal player trading primarily happens with General Allocation Money. It is a finite resource and therefore keeps prices low. Clubs simply can't spend $10 million in GAM on a player.

As such, MLS has been relatively untouched by the price explosion seen in the European market. That's why a potentially generational talent like Herrington can be bought for an almost laughably low $23m.

According to official numbers, MLS's transfer revenue has grown by 360% over the past six years. In the calendar year 2026, $218m was raised from sales, with seven clubs breaking their outbound transfer record.

Similarly, MLS has shattered its spending record for the fourth consecutive year. There was a major leap from $188m to $336m between 2024 and 2025, illustrating that the league hasn't been entirely immune to inflation.

In fact, when it comes to incoming transfers, particularly from European leagues, MLS often finds itself having to pay a premium. This was evident when Sporting KC were compelled to pay an eyebrow-raising $18m to sign Andre Luiz after a disappointing six months at Olympiacos.

All told, MLS clubs spent $370m on new recruits in 2026, the league has announced. Unsurprisingly, Inter Miami lead the way - and by a good margin. The Herons splashed out at least $44.6m in cash on players like Rodrigo de Paul, German Berterame and Tadeo Allende this year.

It is important to note that this and the following figures must be taken with a grain of salt. MLS has not made granular transfer data available, so the specific fees paid for players had to be sourced from media reports and may therefore not be entirely accurate.

Some figures have also not been disclosed, and there may be further deviations due to a lack of information regarding the structure of transfers. The line between guaranteed payments and bonuses can't always be discerned from media reports.

Sporting KC were the second-biggest spenders in the two transfer windows this year, shelling out $35.7m on the aforementioned Luiz and others in a bid to rebuild a team on course for a historically bad finish. They would have spent even more had they managed to secure their top targets.

Toronto FC sit third with an outlay of $29.3m. Their marquee purchase was Josh Sargent, whose $22m fee can rise beyond the league-record $26.5m LAFC paid for Son Heung-min in 2025.

Atlanta United continued their tradition of spending lavishly as well. $28.8 was paid for new players in 2026, with the Five Stripes notably replacing $22m flop Emmanuel Latte Lath with Breel Embolo for $18m.

The Colorado Rapids were the fifth-biggest spenders, with the Herrington money enabling them to sign new stars to the tune of $25.6m. This fee includes the roughly $400,000 that the Rapids paid the Brisbane Roar to waive their sell-on clause on Herrington.

Thanks to the $12m cash-for-player trade of Rafael Navarro to St. Louis City, the Rapids actually boast a positive net spend. To put this into context, only eight clubs had a positive net spend in 2026, and only two of those eight were among the top 10 spenders: the Rapids with $6.1m and the Columbus Crew - with just $200,000.

The two Los Angeles clubs had the largest positive net spend in MLS, with both refraining from making excessively expensive purchases and instead selling well this year. The Portland Timbers finished with a positive balance of $7.3m thanks to the club-record $12.5m sale of Kevin Kelsy.

How does MLS's spending compare to Europe?

As can be gleaned from these figures, MLS's spending doesn't really compare to Europe's top-five leagues. The Premier League and Serie A both spent north of €1 billion this summer alone.

Even cash-strapped Ligue 1 spent twice as much as MLS, although this is heavily skewed by PSG splurging €152m on new signings. The highest fee paid for a player who didn't join the European champions was a fairly modest €25m - but it's still more than any MLS club has ever invested.

This large discrepancy shouldn't be all that surprising given that MLS is a salary-capped league with just six premium roster spots that permit discretionary spending. This naturally limits clubs' ability to compete in the global market.

There is also a large difference between transfer fees and discretionary salary spending. Lionel Messi, the highest-paid player in MLS, earns $28m annually, and Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has claimed that he pays the Argentine as much as $80m.

Miami had a payroll of $50m, as per the MLS Player Association's salary guide for the first half of the 2026 season. This was the largest in the league and would put them at the lower end of this season's Premier League and the middle of the pack in the other top-five divisions.

MLS clubs can pay competitive salaries to the six players that sit outside of the cap, but the overall transfer spending pales in comparison to Europe's top leagues.

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Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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