LAFC, RSL, Minnesota, Colorado, Vancouver and Columbus announced end-of-year moves
Multiple playoff teams announced their end-of-year roster decisions Wednesday. Take a look at the full list of moves here.
Suárez returns to Inter Miami for 2025
Inter Miami CF have signed legendary Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez to a contract extension through the 2025 MLS season. Suárez was Inter Miami's leading scorer in 2024, tallying 25 times in 37 matches across all competitions. With 20g/9a in 27 regular-season games, he finished fourth in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race.
On Tuesday we looked at why each remaining playoff team wouldn’t win MLS Cup. We apologize for the negativity. We were just hungry. We got some food in us yesterday and are starting to see the brighter side of things. Here’s why each remaining team will win MLS Cup. (Ranked from the team we’re least optimistic about to most.)
If New York are going to pull this off they’ll need to win twice on the road and overcome a long history of disappointment. They’ll also need to keep finding ways to put the ball in the back of the net while playing a style that doesn’t lend itself to constant chance creation.
That just means catching a few breaks. And they’ve been able to set themselves up to do that throughout this postseason. They’re winning second balls, winning 40-60 duels and making life hell for their opponent. It’s straightforward but it’s been effective so far.
Is it so farfetched to think they can win a game in Orlando that finishes with both sides creating like 0.9 xG? Is it so farfetched to think they can do the same in Seattle? Is it so farfetched to think they could drag the Galaxy into the mud with them and come out alive on the other side?
Yeah, maybe a little. Especially the Galaxy thing. But something feels different about this Red Bulls side right now. They aren’t nearly as good as any of the Red Bulls teams that made them famous for disappointing endings in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, but that seems to have removed some of the pressure. You know how they say smart people are more likely to be sad? The Red Bulls are out there floating through it all with reckless abandon. They don’t know they’re supposed to be playing beautiful soccer and worrying about the past. That’s to their benefit.
Orlando are here simply because they have to go on the road to win MLS Cup. That’s a really, really, really hard thing to do. It’s happened once since 2016.
They’re playing the best ball we’ve ever seen Orlando play though. They’ve been excellent since they made Martín Ojeda their full-time No. 10. They do nearly everything well and they don’t beat themselves. That’s a proven formula for playoff success in MLS. The world’s most chaotic league usually ends up going to the team that figures out how to find control. And Orlando rarely seem out of control.
They’ll be able to take control of their matchup against the Red Bulls. They can easily come out clean on the other side of a war of attrition against Seattle. And they just might be able to slow down the Galaxy enough for something special. This is an experienced group with a ton of chemistry playing at a high level. They have all the traits of a team that can get the job done.
They’ll host MLS Cup if they can get there. And we all know by now that you can never count out the Sounders.
The big problem here, of course, is that the Galaxy look something close to unstoppable right now. The good news for Seattle is that they seem to thrive when they’re up against that exact type of unstoppable team in this exact situation. They’re going to try and make it a very, very frustrating day for LA. They might succeed. They have the best defense in the league, after all.
At that point, all they’d have to do is win at home in what, to be blunt, might be the ugliest MLS Cup game of all time. Neither team from the East will have any problem playing in a glorified wrestling match. Seattle might thrive in it.
Do you even need me to convince you that the team that’s scored 15 times over three playoff games has a shot at MLS Cup? They’re hosting this weekend and they’d host MLS Cup if they beat Seattle. They’re the odds-on favorite to win a title.
There are still some concerns, though. Seattle are by far the best defense they’ve faced. Orlando and New York will both make it far more difficult to find the back of the net then Colorado and Minnesota did. There’s a chance they aren’t up for back-to-back fistfights.
But you’ve gotta catch someone before you can start throwing punches. The Galaxy may be too fast, too elusive, too damn good on the ball to get a hold of. With Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec and one of the best attacks we’ve ever seen firing on all cylinders at the right time, it’s hard to imagine anyone slowing the Galaxy down. Even if one of the remaining opponents is able to brute force their way to a goal or two, it sure doesn’t seem like they have the firepower to keep up with LA. This is the Galaxy’s to win.
- Matt Doyle went in-depth on the Conference Finals.
- Jonathan Sigal picked out one big question each MLS team must address in 2025.
- Bradley Wright-Phillips looked at which stars need to deliver in the Conference Finals.
Good luck out there. Prepare for what’s to come.
