Mexico manager doesn’t want his stars going to MLS

In contrast with past Mexico coaches who have had no problem with their players going to MLS, current El Tri boss Juan Carlos Osorio doesn’t think his star players should make their way to America.

“I believe that when a footballer is in his peak he should play in Europe and not MLS,” said Osorio. “[MLS] is for the end of a career and not for when a footballer still has a lot to give.”

Recently, Real Sociedad forward Carlos Vela was in talks with MLS, but opted to stay in Europe. Giovani dos Santos moved from Villarreal to LA Galaxy last summer, and was left out of Osorio’s November squad with an injury. Eleven of Osorio’s last squad play in Europe, while 12 play in Liga MX and none in MLS.

Players like dos Santos and Vela are faced with a difficult choice at the moment. If they aren’t quite good enough to start for La Liga’s middle-of-the-road teams, they have four options: bounce around relegation fodder teams in Europe’s big five for little money, go to a less competitive European league for similar money, play in Liga MX for a little more money, or get rich in MLS. It looks like that last option might not be conducive to a national team career for Mexican stars.

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