He's nailed MLS:
When I asked Zlatan what it will take for MLS to achieve parity with Europe and South America, he responds with a question.
“Do they want to make it?”
“Who is ‘they’?”
“They that control it. The owners. Do they want it to be big?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“You think?”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t make money in soccer,” he tells me. “In Europe, I can pick two clubs that make money. The rest don’t; they do it out of passion. Here, with the sports, you make money. That’s it. And I think with all the rules you have here, you are not boosting up the soccer.”
What rules?
“The budget things. The salary cap. You cannot bring in players you want. They have more rules here than I have in my home.”
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Here, you can lose five games and it’s still, ‘Don’t worry, we are in the playoffs.’ So why even play first eight months of season? No, I don’t accept. To be best, you have to be best every day.
You know, in Euro, if you come in last, you go down to Division 2. That is pressure. ... So last year, we fight for six position to go to playoff, but came in seven.
If we had made sixth position, people would have said we had a ‘good season.’ I say, ‘Fighting for the sixth position? That means we had s—- season!” We need to fight for No. 1, not 6.
https://deadspin.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-ethers-carlos-vela-1836488022
Not sure if they are any good or cheaper, but at least an option?
