The volume of Major League Soccer players moving across the Atlantic Ocean has risen in recent years.
The majority of the focus when talking about outgoing transfers is rightfully on the American and Canadian products who have made their ways to the top European leagues.
But MLS has also served as a stepping stone for young South American and European players to reach the next level of their careers.
There are obvious success stories, like Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich and Tyler Adams at RB Leipzig, but there are also some players who have carved out roles in mid-tier European leagues.
There have been other Americans and Canadians that have thrived overseas, but the likes of Christian Pulisic, Jonathan David and others did not step foot in MLS. Others, like Weston McKennie and Chris Richards came out of the FC Dallas academy, but neither player recorded a regular-season minute for the club.
Miguel Almiron
Before we touch on the domestic players in Europe, we have to start with MLS’ record outgoing transfer.
Miguel Almiron made the jump from Atlanta United to Newcastle United in 2019 for a league-record $26.4 million, according to Transfermarkt. Atlanta also has the second-highest outgoing fee from Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez’s recent $18 million move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
The Paraguay international produced four goals and two assists over 35 starts for the Magpies in his first full Premier League season, which is a drop off from the numbers he produced as a star in MLS.
During his time with the Five Stripes, Almiron put up 21 goals and 28 assists in regular-season play.
Part of the reason for those struggles may be the increased level of competition in the Premier League, but he was also mired in an attack that managed just 38 goals in 38 league games last season. Continue reading