Written By: Robin Van Paassen
Edited By: Matt Conciatori
Yes, you read the title correctly. Lorenzo Insigne of S.S.C Napoli in the Serie A is coming to the Major League Soccer (MLS)!
It is official, Insigne will depart to Canada's Toronto FC this July to join on an MLS record price tag of $15,000,000 per year for the next four seasons.
Insigne is not the first superstar making his way to the league. He joins the past arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Nani, Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Villa, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba, and among many other stars. In this case, the one thing that makes him stand out, is Insigne being in the prime of his soccer career. While other players moving to the MLS are past their peak and close to retirement, Insigne is coming off another remarkable year. Again, he captained the Serie A club, S.C.C Napoli, that only fell shy one point off qualifying for the Champions League. In July, he capped off an impressive campaign with the Italian National team winning the 2020 Euros, including a highlight of a marvelous long-range curling shot to put Italy past Belgium in the quarterfinals.
After nearly a decade of senior appearances, Insigne's excellent positional play and finishing has led him to poach 115 goals equalling Diego Maradona's third-place all-time club goal tally. Also bearing 91 assists, the Naples talisman has been a playmaker since his introduction to the senior side after successful early loan stints at Calcio Foggia and Delfino Pescara. He is already considered a club icon and still worth an impressive $38,500,000 dollars, so why would he move this early in his career?
As a player playing outputting close to the best performances in his career, why go to Toronto FC? Toronto is a fantastic place to live, but the team only winning six out of their thirty-four league games this past season is not overly eye-turning. With offers coming from Premier League side's top half table caliber contenders West Ham and Tottenham, the quality of the two sides is obvious to the casual fan. Although Everton and Newcastle United offers were not overly intriguing, with neither their form looking promising as of now, a rebound was not off the cards with a signing like Insigne. Then there were the two Milan titans, Inter Milan and A.C Milan, which both clubs offered better contracts than Napoli. In terms of performance, both sides were head-to-head, with Inter one-upping their neighbour at the top of the Serie A, as well as being the current titleholders. Also, not to mention Inter Milan also did qualify for the round of sixteen in the Champions League as Napoli was knocked out of the Europa Cup. Of course, it is understandable to not join the teams that you clash against regularly. Who knows, Insigne might have a vision of Toronto FC's rise back to the top.
Maybe it is the lack of silverware? His tenure at Napoli has not exactly led to a trophy-laden cabinet. The reign of Juventus over the 2010s is likely to blame for that. With no Serie A titles and Napoli's misfortunes in Europe's competitions, Insigne still boasts two Italian Cups and one Italian Super Cup. While Toronto FC has come up in recent years through heavy club investment, the club only has won one league title, so it cannot be for the trophy potential.
What could it be? The answer would likely be, as you probably have guessed, the money. Napoli, not emptying their pockets for Insigne are only willing to fess up roughly 7,000,000 dollars which is not enough to justify his significance to the club. Toronto FC was willing to pay, and they made sure it was not gone without notice. Their astronomical bid floored every offer including the offer made by Newcastle, a club run by the wealthiest owners in the world as of recent.
In Insigne making the switch to Toronto, they now have their Sebastian Giovinco replacement, the other famous Italian striker that played an instrumental role in Toronto FC's trophy success in 2017. The anticipation of another icon at the club has brought excitement to the MLS. It is another chance to see a superstar play on this side of the ocean, even if it is for their last years. Regardless of people's views on the decisions of players moving to a league outside of Europe, the players have their views for their own and familial reasons. As much as seeing Insigne close his best form years outside of Europe is devastating to many fans, it will not be too late to make a successful comeback like Ibrahimovic is doing at A.C Milan after playing in the MLS. You never know.
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