Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED
Following Inter Miami's 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup Round of 16, former USMNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller rejected the narrative that the three MLS teams in the tournament - Miami, Seattle Sounders and LAFC - failed in the competition.
Despite such high-priced players as Miami's Lionel Messi, Keller said MLS spending restrictions made it difficult for teams in the domestic league to compete against European powers.
“I think Jordi Alba kinda mentioned it a little bit on the mechanisms that MLS has with what they’re allowed to pay,” Keller said on the Futbol Americas podcast. “These teams were never going to compete against the teams they were playing against... All we really wanted from the MLS teams is to be competitive, no expectations of going through. The fact that Inter Miami did is a big bonus for MLS.
"You have an expectation that it’s a failure that the Sounders don’t go through against PSG, Atletico Madrid and Botafogo? That’s the most ridiculous expectation you would have ever. It would have been a huge embarrassment if any of those teams lost to an MLS side. I thought MLS sides did great in this tournament and I’m not going to be critical at all - and the fact that Inter Miami got through is a super bonus.”
WHAT HERCULEZ GOMEZ SAID
On the same podcast, former USMNT star Herculez Gomez challenged league leadership, saying he "hopes MLS takes a look at this game and looks at the possibility" of evolving beyond their financial rules.
“Clearly one of the best teams in this competition, clearly one of the best teams in the world,” Gomez said of PSG. “I’m not going to sit here and begin to process where Inter Miami went wrong. I’m with Jordi Alba on this one. Maybe they weren’t the best team by far in their group, but they went undefeated in that group when nobody - and I’ll raise my hand - nobody thought they would even come close."
He specifically credited Miami for finding a way to be competitive against European opposition while declaring that "MLS is ready for more" investment to compete globally.
“I just hope MLS takes a look at this game and starts thinking about the possibilities, loosens the purse strings ... try to be better, to try to spend more. MLS is ready for more, teams like Inter Miami are ready for more. Messi demands more.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Inter Miami's Club World Cup performance - going unbeaten in the group stage before falling to the European champions - represents both progress and persistent challenges for American soccer on the global stage.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Following their elimination from the Club World Cup knockouts, Inter Miami will face CF Montreal on the road in the MLS on July 5.