Major League Soccer is shifting its calendar to align with top European leagues in 2027 which should elevate the league’s position as a buying and selling power.
MLS traditionally started in February and culminated in December with MLS Cup. The calendar change means the league will start in July and end in May. From a transfer market perspective, teams are now on the same playing field as European sides during the summer. Most transfer business in Europe gets completed in the summer compared to the winter given the difficult nature of acquiring players midseason.
Same goes for MLS, though their market had been operating inversely to Europe. They would try to sign players during their offseason while European teams were mid-campaign, and their midseason window came during Europe’s offseason.
Tani Oluwaseyi is a recent example having been signed by Villarreal from Minnesota United this summer.
Minnesota United were reluctant to sell the Canadian international striker—chief soccer officer Khaled El-Ahmad telling : “We did not want to sell Tani, we said no several times.
“But it came to the point where the value was such a high level to justify the conversations. Also, Villarreal is a club of such a high stature. As a club and league, we should be selling players to top clubs.”
The other side of it is MLS teams have often had to toil with how cashing in on a player could affect their position as a playoff contender. Now, with the transfer window aligning with the rest of Europe, teams have more time to prepare and consider possibilities in the market. They also get to bed in players before a season starts and won’t have to worry about an acclimatization period.
