Donovan says outbound Chelsea star should have followed Lionel Messi to MLS

Landon Donovan asserts former Chelsea star Christian Pulisic should have followed Lionel Messi to MLS

Former American football player Landon Timothy Donovan claimed former Chelsea star Christian Pulisic should have followed Lionel Messi to join Major League Soccer.

The 24-year-old has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, and AC Milan are the favourites to sign him after reaching a personal agreement with him. The deal is practically done; Milan have to make it official.

Now it seems the former Borussia Dortmund star’s four-year spell might be coming to an end. The USMNT star struggled last season and failed to get enough minutes on the pitch.

However, Pulisic was urged by Donovan that he should have followed Messi to join one of the Major League Soccer clubs, which could have been better for the league and him.

Football fans were startled when Lionel Messi joined the MLS team Inter Miami since many thought he might join Barcelona or continue in Europe. But the Spanish club weren’t financially capable to afford Messi.

Considering the former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar joined Miami, Donovan claimed Pulisic should have followed the 36-year-old to the MLS side too, as he told Fox Sports:

“I’m sure he’s making plenty of money, but the ability to come to MLS is kind of like Messi’s. I’m not so sure that wasn’t a big reason for Messi and the World Cup coming here.”

“I think it would have been a great move for the Galaxy to go out and get Christian. Bring him here and pay whatever you have to pay him. Bring an American superstar who has global recognition back to MLS ahead of the World Cup. I think it would have been a great move, and I can hear the Twitterverse going crazy.”

While Messi has arguably entered the twilight of his playing days, Pulisic is still extremely young and has a long career ahead of him. The former Barcelona star has won every football title imaginable, so it makes sense for him to play out the remainder of his playing days in a league which doesn’t have the same spotlight on it as Europe’s major leagues.

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Pulisic is just 24 and it would be foolish for him to leave European football this early. There is a case to be made that David Beckham-led Miami are starting a revolution in the USA, with Sergio Busquets also in their team.

But it is a league in its formative stages. Pulisic could go there and be a local hero, of course, and help in developing it. But the fact remains that European competitions — the major ones — are still many players’ ultimate dream at the club level. It’s not like Pulisic is joining part-timers in AC Milan, who have won seven UEFA Champions League titles — more than Barcelona and PSG combined, mind you.