Sebastian Giovinco

Hold your horses, Inter Miami.

As Major League Soccer continues to grow in both popularity and market value, several franchises have emerged as the most valuable in 2025.

With the arrivals of top players to the league, as well as the emergence of new expansion clubs and numerous investments from the 30 teams in MLS, club-values have skyrocketed in the last decade, with multiple teams in the United States becoming some of the most valuable in Latin America.

Last month, MLS club LAFC completed the signing of Giorgio Chiellini on a free transfer from Juventus. He's the league's second major Italian signing this summer after Lorenzo Insigne joined Toronto FC on a free transfer.

Sebastian Giovinco was the best thing to ever happen to Toronto FC. After eight years of fruitless existence in MLS, the Italian’s arrival heralded the beginning of a golden era for the club, culminating in a 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double and a heartbreaking shootout defeat to Chivas in the CONCACAF Champions League final.

One year on from capturing the Supporters’ Shield, setting an MLS regular-season points record and finishing with a convincing MLS Cup victory over Seattle, Toronto FC is in very serious jeopardy of missing the 2018 playoffs entirely. With only 27 points from 27 games and one of the league’s worst defensive records, a November spent watching instead of defending the Cup is probably deserved.

So what happened to Toronto in 2018?

#1. Failure To Push Forward (Mentally/Personnel)

It was only 109 days ago that Toronto FC was being hailed as the greatest side in MLS history after pushing Chivas to a penalty shootout in the final of the CONCACAF Champions League. Now, TFC’s in very real danger of missing the MLS Cup Playoffs and a chance at defending its 2017 title. 

On Sunday, Toronto was defeated 3-2 by Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC in front of nearly 28,000 at BMO Field. It was a massive match for the Reds and a crucial opportunity to cut into the seven-point gap that separates them from Montreal for the East’s sixth and final playoff spot. 

The MLS Players Association released salary data for the 2018 season this week, and we now know the MLS highest paid players for the current campaign.