Müller joined the Vancouver Whitecaps using MLS's Discovery List, which allows teams to claim up to five non-MLS players for potential negotiations. If multiple teams select the same player, the priority is given based on claims filed or points-per-game rankings. MLS clubs can trade these priority rights, demonstrated by Vancouver's $400,000 payment to FC Cincinnati for Müller's Discovery Rights. The practice is seen as unique to MLS and raises questions about its necessity and effectiveness within the broader context of global football.
Müller recently made headlines after joining the Vancouver Whitecaps through an atypical but significant mechanism in MLS's single-entity structure called the Discovery List.
The regulation allows teams to "discover" and select up to five non-MLS players, and those teams can be first in line to negotiate an MLS move.
For those taking notes, why does MLS add these confusing extra steps? Uncommon in the rest of the global game, there would be plenty of head-scratching in the Premier League or LaLiga if clubs queued in line or transferred the rights of a major incoming player.
An anonymous team executive in a conversation with ESPN said the process was "embarrassing."
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