Julie Foudy on NWSL players transferring to Europe: “It’s absolutely an issue”
Yahoo Sports contributors Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros are joined by soccer legend Julie Foudy who weighs in on how the NWSL is in danger of losing its best players to Europe. Hear the full conversation on the “The Cooligans” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Alyssa Thompson, as fans of NWSL know, it's difficult to see very good players leave and play anywhere else, and her leaving I think triggered a lot of conversation about the NWSL salary cap and whether we should have it, and, you know, so that we can keep those great players here.
Obviously, it's very difficult for a player like that to leave your team, but what are your thoughts on how it all unfolded and where we are when it comes to money and competing leagues in women's soccer?
Do you see these puffy eyes of mine?
This is Alyssa.
I'm still weeping.
And I get it.
I support her, of course, going because I do think playing Champions League, playing in a different country, all of it, right?
I get the appeal of it.
Obviously, a larger salary, more money, all those things.
And so I don't wish her nothing but the best, but it's so hard for NWSL when she's your star on your team.
She's a star in the league.
And, you know, right now, I think that's going to be an issue for NWSL: how are we retaining and keeping our biggest names?
It's absolutely an issue and we've talked a lot about the salary cap over the years, and I think one of the things they're going to have to, and I say this as an owner as well, is reckon with this.
We're going to continue to lose players to Europe, especially now with and this is no fault of Emma Hayes at all, but Emma Hayes knows the importance of getting a diversity of tactics and play in different countries and different players, right?
And she had prior to becoming the US Women's national team coach thought that more should be playing abroad.
And I think she's going to support it in a way that's healthy.
If you want to do it, she's going to support a player doing it, whereas I think coaches in the past, whether it was overt or not, were a little more vocal about staying closer to home.
And mind you, as you get into these gap years when you have no World Cups or Olympics, obviously the pull from across the pond is much stronger because you don't have to keep going back and forth as much, but I think they're going to have to, Uh, we're gonna have to, as a league, address the salary cap.