Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
With the news that John Terry is leaving Chelsea at the end of the season, speculation immediately put him in two places, primarily: China, or MLS. The first comes naturally as that is where Terry was linked to all the time during his contract negotiations about a year ago. MLS is “natural” for the British redtops because of how many Premier League players went to MLS when their English careers dwindled down. Will Terry be another one, and if so, will he be a hit in the league?
Initial reports seem to suggest that no MLS club has interest in Terry, which is in some ways mildly surprising. But the reasons for why a MLS club wouldn’t have interest could come down to two factors: perception, and money. Terry, more than likely, could certainly help improve any MLS team’s defense, but at what cost? Would Terry want wages comparable to what he was getting at Chelsea? If that’s the case, no team would want to pay him DP money for a player in the twilight of his career even if he’s only in the league for a year at most. But with targeted allocation money, and Terry seeing his former teammate Ashley Cole playing on about $400,000 (possibly paid down with TAM), should MLS clubs be interested then?
MLS as a league is certainly more aware of its perception now than ever, and doesn’t need to sign Terry for reasons of publicity anymore. 10 years ago, that could have been on the league’s mind, but it certainly isn’t now. He’s not Gerrard, Lampard, Pirlo or even Keane; he’s not going to be selling kits by the thousands. But with as many clubs that currently have defensive issues, if they ponied up around what Ashley Cole is making (with or without TAM), they’d be getting someone who could instantly stabilize their defense at a reasonable cost and could do so rather quickly. He’s obviously not going to have huge longevity in the league, but as a potential stopgap measure, more than a few clubs could do with the risk.
If Terry goes anywhere however, it looks like it will be down the table in the Premier League or to China, and not to MLS. In some ways, that’s not a bad bit of perception for the league. Many in England still perceive the league as a “retirement league”, which would only be reinforced if Terry comes to the league. And while many clubs would be better if they signed Terry, none absolutely must, or will be compelled to, by the league. That kind of signing is largely in the league’s past as teams look towards younger players with potential sell-on value. In a perverse way, saying no to Terry would be evidence to some of “progress”, and as of now it looks as if the league is going in that direction.
Because of the nature of the British tabloids, and MLS’ history, it was only natural that after John Terry’s announcement that he’d be linked to MLS. But it is a credit in some ways to the modern league that almost soon after, another report comes out that no club in the league is interested.
