The MLS has devoted an extreme amount of time and effort towards popularizing the league and staffing their rosters with renowned talent. With players such as Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Kaka, Sebastian Giovinco, and Diego Valeri, the league has been rather successful. Competition within the league is growing as fast as the fanbase. Nonetheless, the MLS has run into some obstacles along the way, and this can be seen in the form of signing on players who failed to deliver for their teams. Let’s take a look at five players the league could have done without.
Lothar Matthäus
Infamous for being caught vacationing with his girlfriend in the middle of the season when he was supposed to be rehabbing his back injury, Lothar Matthäus did not contribute much to the MetroStars. Originally from Germany, Matthäus had an outstanding background. He won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and was named European Footballer of the Year. However, in 2000 he joined the MetroStars at 39 and very naturally did not possess the same drive he once had. He only played one season for the team, and out of his 16 appearances, he scored zero goals.
Claudio Reyna
As the former captain of the Men’s National Team, Claudio Reyna signed on with the New York Red Bulls in 2007; however, the then 33-year-old appeared to be readily susceptible to injury. The New Jersey Native made only a handful of appearances with the team, and out of the 29 games of that season, Reyna scored not one goal. Halfway through his second season, he finally retired.
Denílson
Having previously won the World Cup with Brazil, Denílson then signed with FC Dallas in 2007. At 30 years-old, he was no spring chicken. However, he still had a few more promising years to go. Unfortunately, laziness got the best of Denílson who scored only one goal for the team in eight games. To make matters worse, the attempt was made off of a penalty kick. After less than a season, Denílson retired from Dallas.
Rafa Marquez
One of the most expensive mistakes, Rafa Marquez joined the New York Red Bulls in 2010 after signing a three-year $15 million contract. He turned out to be an incredibly high-maintenance player who collected red cards and suspensions. Regarding his disposition towards his teammates, he had little to no manners. Marquez alluded many times to the fact that he thought there was a significant discrepancy between his level of play and that of his teammates. Simply put, Marquez was an arrogant player with a poor attitude.
Raïs M’Bolhi
The promising Algerian goalie was picked up by the Philadelphia Union in 2015. The Union was hesitant at first to sign Raïs M’Bolhi since it’s not really advised to spend a lot of money on a goalie. Nevertheless, the Union took M’Bolhi on and regretted it shortly after that. The goalie not only delivered a consistently poor performance on the field, but he was also tough to work with. The Union ended up playing younger goalies over him, and finally, in 2015, M’Bolhi was released from the team.
