The Leagues Cup is an annual competition pitting Major League Soccer against Liga MX, the premier professional soccer league in Mexico.
It’s also one of many data points the leagues use to judge their development against one another. Strong performances by one league’s franchises in the Leagues Cup can indicate power shifts in North American soccer.
The Leagues Cup has been a closely contested competition since its inception in 2019. Neither MLS nor Liga MX has run away with the tournament, as both leagues have been represented in every Leagues Cup final four.
But as the 2024 edition comes to a close, parity is fading away. For the first time, Liga MX has not sent a team to the semifinals.
It’s the latest slip in a series of backslides for Liga MX. But is this Leagues Cup lockout an accurate depiction of Liga MX’s stature in North America? Or are their other factors keeping its clubs from being competitive?
There are arguments to support the former take. Yes, MLS has grown stronger in recent seasons, with a focus on league-wide parity for all 29 franchises. And it’s not just Inter Miami and its Lionel Messi-led squad dominating the tournament.
Inter Miami was eliminated in the Round of 16 and Messi didn’t play in the Leagues Cup at all. Instead, it’s MLS’ lesser-appreciated franchises (Columbus, Colorado and Philadelphia) that are excelling.
MLS receives a lot of criticism for its focus on parity. Many pundits believe that true excellence can only come from a “win or die” model in which the weaker teams are left behind. But MLS’ parity has been its saving grace in the Leagues Cup against Liga MX.
MLS has shared its wealth and its players to ensure the whole league can challenge any competitor. Liga MX, meanwhile, has remained dependent on the performances of its top clubs. If they struggle, as they did in the Leagues Cup this summer, Liga MX has little else to give.
But digging into why Liga MX clubs struggled this summer sheds light on the inherent American bias of the Leagues Cup.
For MLS, the Leagues Cup arrives in the back half of the season — its teams have had upwards of 20 games each to refine their game. For Liga MX, though, the Leagues Cup comes just five games into the Mexican apertura, meaning that its teams enter the competition with significantly less time to gel.
Club America dominated the last Mexican season, but it’s 10th in the apertura and reeling from a difficult opening run of games. It’s no wonder it wasn’t able to get past the Colorado Rapids in the Leagues Cup. It looks nothing like the team that stormed to first place at the end of last season.
The same phenomenon happens in reverse in the CONCACAF Champions League. When that tournament gets to its most important point, Liga MX is in the midst of its own playoff push and its teams are locked into their grooves. MLS, meanwhile, is just a few matchdays into its season and struggles to compete.
That’s the trouble with reading too much into the MLS-Liga MX debate. The leagues rarely face each other in truly neutral circumstances. MLS’ strong performance in the Leagues Cup this summer is a positive sign, but it comes with a sizable asterisk. Liga MX should be back with a vengeance by the time the Champions League rolls around next winter.
