Apple TV’s Sunday Night Soccer analyst sat down joined Mic’d Up to discuss MLS’s growth over the offseason along with San Jose and Chicago’s potential
MLS had a record-breaking offseason in the buildup to its 2025 campaign. The league’s transfer record was broken on two different occasions, leading the way in a period of unprecedented spending for the league.
FC Cincinnati initially made waves with the signing of Togolese striker Kevin Denkey from Belgian powerhouse Genk, forking over a massive $16.2M for the striker’s services. However, that number was shattered even further when Atlanta United followed it up with the signing of Middlesbrough forward Emmanuel Latte Lath for a fee of $22M plus add-ons. That’s without mentioning the deals for U.S. international Brandon Vazquez, Newcastle United standout Miguel Almiron, and reigning MLS MVP candidate Evander; all of which were $10 million plus deals themselves.
“I’m no longer surprised when I see multiple eight-figure signings in one day in the offseason from this league,” Apple TV’s Sunday Night Soccer analyst Andrew Wiebe told GOAL. “There was a time covering it 15, 12, 10 years ago where that was unthinkable, where that would have been the story of the entire offseason. And this offseason, for example, Denkey gets signed, and all of a sudden it’s covered up by three, four, or five other signings, which may not be at that level of investment, but are at that level of ambition.”
Transfer business made waves, but internally, changes were made to further enhance the competitive nature of the league as well, with the main example being the introduction of the league’s newest mechanism, Cash for Players. The internal trade system has incentivized the league’s best players to remain in MLS, and now gives teams around the league a chance to poach top talent from direct competitors.
“While I still am a person who thinks the best of MLS is in the future, and I hope we get to that soon, this is the best the league has ever been, and I firmly believe it is only going to get better with every single transfer window,” Weibe said. “That’s the message that we’re being sent every time the windows open.”
With MLS kicking off its Week 1 last weekend, Weibe assesses MLS’s future and weighs in on the team’s to follow along with stars the league should pursue after missing out on Neymar.
He shares why and more in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.