The sporting world may have just witnessed one of the most historic moments ever. A new level of professional sports contracts has been unlocked as Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets for a whopping $765 million deal over 15 years. Of course, the news has become a topic of discussion beyond baseball fanatics, somehow making its way into the soccer world. While many call it a game-changing move, US Men’s National Team icon Landon Donovan thinks otherwise.

The former LA Galaxy forward has rather questioned the Mets for offering Soto such a deal—one of the largest contracts in baseball history, to be precise—especially for such a lengthy duration. It only saw Donovan allege that Soto had the majority of the influence in this move, let alone ditching the Yankees, despite having a good ride with them.

“If I’m a club, why are you committing 15 years?” began Landon in the latest podcast episode of Unfiltered Soccer, which he co-hosts alongside another American soccer icon, Tim Howard. “But then the reality is Soto had all the power, all the leverage, and all these things are always about leverage,” added the former striker.

Citing his LA Galaxy contract, Donovan mentioned that during his playing days, both the MLS club and the forward knew it was his final years of playing, so there remained some sort of leverage for either party and carry forward negotiations neatly. Additionally, it also brought in a respect factor and neither of the parties took advantage of the situation.

However, in the case of Soto, the Dominican had all the leverage according to Donovan, and the ex-forward questioned the 26-year-old for his decision to leave the Yankees, where he could have something remarkable. Of course, Donovan isn’t alone, as his fellow co-host Howard also questioned Soto’s historic Mets collab!

Tim Howard questions Juan Soto if he can ‘commit’ to the Mets for 15 years!

Hearing out Juan Soto’s $75 million signing bonus left Howard dizzy as he questioned how players and teams end up with such long-term collaborations. Citing Alex Rodriguez’s 13-year-old deal, the former USMNT goalkeeper began, “I don’t understand the length of these contracts because Juan Soto, if I’m correct, probably will not give you 15 years of good service.”

Tim again reminded many about Bobby Bonilla, who is still getting paid $1 million per annum at least until 2035. “I hope that’s not blasphemous. Who can you commit to giving you 15 years of production? I know there’s an opt-out after 5 years [but] the numbers make you dizzy,” added Howard, hilariously stating how good it is to be in the position of all these baseball stars.

The former goalie also had special praise for Scott Boras, the mega agent of Juan Soto, for being able to pull out such a move. “I guess it’s great to be in the New York market because it’s gonna be some big hitter. The Mets and Yankees showed this year that they’re back,” he added before again expressing his desire to see Soto commit to the Yankees instead.“It’s fun, I would have liked to see him stay at the Yankees but a lot of fun [for Soto]” concluded Howard.

What are your thoughts on Juan Soto’s Mets deal? Let us know in the comments.