Cristiano Ronaldo backed to follow Lionel Messi to MLS with football valuations in United States 'taking off' as Peterborough owner reveals plans to buy an American club

With Ronaldo out of contract at Al-Nassr in the summer of 2025, speculation has built over whether the 39-year-old plans to retire or if there is another move left for him. Now, Peterborough chairman MacAnthony says he plans to buy a side in the the United Soccer League, which is below the MLS, with players like Inter Miami's Messi making the sport in North America more attractive to investors.

When asked if football was growing in the United States, he told talkSPORT: “Massively. I’m going to buy a USL club potentially in the next two years because I think with the World Cup on the horizon and the Olympics on the horizon out there, it's already becoming a top-four sport. Parents are spending fortunes sending their eight, nine and ten-year-olds to weekend camps of football, money is going into it. They still have it wrong in MLS where they don’t have a pyramid. If somebody in the MLS convinces those owners to open up the pyramid like we have in England, that would be the second-most watched football around the world."

He added: “I believe valuations are taking off in the next ten years with the Apple deal with the Messi effect and Cristiano Ronaldo will probably go out there when he’s finished in Saudi Arabia. Football will be on the map in America in a big way and I believe if I get a USL club right now for £8-10million, even though it's not in MLS, that could be worth double or triple in the next five years."

Ronaldo and Messi, 37, are the poster boys of the Saudi Pro League and MLS respectively but it remains to be seen how much longer the footballing legends will continue playing. But Messi's presence in the MLS and America hosting the 2026 World Cup is doing wonders to boost the sport's profile in the United States. If Ronaldo were to play in the same division as Messi, that would cause the league's popularity to skyrocket again.

While MacAnthony's Peterborough are preparing for the new League One season next month, Argentina ace Messi is currently on the sidelines with an ankle injury, while Portugal star Ronaldo is enjoying his summer break after the Euros.