MLS spent years chasing some of the biggest names in world football — and kept coming up empty. Ronaldo, Modric, Neymar. Three different eras, three different clubs, three deals that collapsed before they ever got started.
The Ronaldo one is the most revealing. In 2022, Sporting Kansas City had him on their discovery list — a formal mechanism giving them the right to negotiate ahead of any other MLS franchise. Meetings between the club and Ronaldo's representatives stretched over a month. A deal wasn't just speculative; it was progressing. Two problems killed it: the money, and Ronaldo himself. Financing a player of that profile in Kansas City was never going to be straightforward, and persuading a five-time Ballon d'Or winner to swap Europe for the midwest was another conversation entirely. He ended up at Al-Nassr instead, chasing a different kind of payday in Saudi Arabia.
The Madrid connection
San Diego FC, one of MLS's newest franchises, was particularly aggressive in chasing former Real Madrid names. Luka Modric was on their radar in 2024 as his contract at the Bernabeu wound down, with Inter Miami also in the running. Modric chose to stay — extended for one more year, served as club captain, then left for AC Milan in July 2025. San Diego also explored moves for Sergio Ramos and Keylor Navas. Neither happened.
Three high-profile Real Madrid alumni. Zero signings. That's a rough return on whatever was spent on those negotiations.
The Neymar situation had the most romantic angle. Inter Miami had reportedly dreamed of reassembling Barcelona's famous attacking trio — Messi, Suárez, and Neymar — on American soil. Messi and Suárez arrived. Neymar signed a one-year extension with Santos in January 2026 instead, and with that deal expiring in December, retirement looks like the next step rather than Miami.
What it actually means for MLS
The failed pursuits aren't necessarily a bad look for the league. The fact that these conversations happened at all — that Sporting KC was in a room with Ronaldo's people for a month, that San Diego was targeting three Real Madrid legends simultaneously — reflects how seriously elite players and their agents are now treating MLS as an option worth exploring.
Messi's arrival changed the calculus. The question of whether a generational player could still command attention in the United States has been answered. Every agent with an aging superstar client is now doing the math.
- Ronaldo — chose Al-Nassr over MLS after talks with Sporting Kansas City broke down over finances
- Modric — extended at Real Madrid, later joined AC Milan; San Diego FC and Inter Miami had both registered interest
- Neymar — Santos contract extension in January 2026 ended the Inter Miami reunion dream with Messi and Suárez
- Sergio Ramos and Keylor Navas — both explored by San Diego FC, neither deal came close
MLS got Messi. It wanted Ronaldo, Modric, and Neymar too. The league's pulling power is real — just not quite real enough, not yet, for the ones who got away.
