January transfer window: the MLS stars European clubs should target

Once regarded as a retirement league for ageing European stars, evidence of MLS's rise can be found in the steady stream of talent heading the other way

In the last January transfer window, 33 players left Major League Soccer for Europe. Top European clubs are increasingly looking to US soccer in search of stars who, thanks to the American season finishing in December, are primed to hit the ground running upon arrival.

And after a season that drew more transatlantic attention than ever before thanks to Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami, several MLS stars will have caught the eye of Europe's elite.