Ryan Reynolds’ Investment in $200M Team is Big Question Mark on US Soccer, Says Alexi Lalas as Wrexham Owners Eye Emulating Success in Club Necaxa

The past 24 hours have been in a state of frenzy for LIGA MX fans. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney‘s latest move brought fresh eyes to the product, with the Wrexham owners buying a minority stake in Club Necaxa. Fans are very excited to see the changes this could bring to the Mexican league, with the two Hollywood stars doing an amazing job during their 3 years at Wrexham.

Former USMNT legend Alexi Lalas reacted to the news on the latest edition of his ‘State of the Union’ podcast. Lalas lauded both Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for their excellent business move. However, he wasn’t too convinced about how this would benefit soccer in the United States.

Lalas stated, “This goes absolutely against American soccer. This is putting your time and money into everything but American soccer. I’m not angry at them. I’m just pointing this out. It also brings up the question of why are they doing that? Why do they see it’s more attractive from a business perspective to put money into English soccer and now Mexican soccer?”

Lalas also claimed soccer needs to become attractive in America to attract investors to push big money. Despite having big stars like Lionel Messi, the league hasn’t failed to deliver on all expectations, with Inter Miami predominantly the primary beneficiary.

While the MLS has seen some growth in recent months, most of that has rested on Lionel Messi’s shoulders. While the Herons have usually sold out games, many teams in the league have failed to capitalize on the effect and propel themselves to the next stage.

Wrexham owners snub MLS for LIGA MX!

You can take this with a grain of salt, considering we don’t know if Wrexham’s Rob & Ryan were ever interested in owning an MLS side. However, that raises multiple questions. If they were interested, why did they say no, and if they weren’t, then what does MLS need to attract new investors? Despite witnessing some commendable growth in recent months, the MLS is still far behind the top leagues in the world.

One of the major reasons behind this lies with the league’s inability to create stars. While Inter Miami has its superstars, not every team has a poster boy. Having a popular name to represent the club’s colors can go a long way. Now teams aren’t the only party to blame in this situation. You see, MLS is pretty strict with their financial guidelines, which don’t allow teams to splurge for talent.

Considering how things have been, many MLS teams are surely not the first pick for investors. MLS needs to do its best to capitalize on Lionel Messi’s time in America. Since these could be the golden years for soccer in the country.