Antoine Griezmann effect: MLS All-Stars hail Orlando City newcomer | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – He’s not present at the MLS All-Star festivities; not this year’s, at least.

Yet Antoine Griezmann is undoubtedly on the minds of many gathered in Charlotte this week, as the French legend’s seismic impact at Orlando City reverberates across the league.

The Griezmann effect

Griezmann’s arrival in central Florida has transformed a side that struggled mightily during the first half of the season, the Lions winning their first two matches following the World Cup pause by a combined score of 5-0, including Saturday’s defeat of Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC.

“Antoine is a true gentleman,” Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau said after Monday’s All-Stars training session. “On the field, you see the quality that he brings for us, what glue he is to the group. At the end of the day, everybody embraces that type of person, outside the field and on the field, that he is. So it's a renewal of energy in the group.”

‘The Grizi effect’ can even hit home for superstars of comparable caliber.

“I love him,” Son Heung-Min said of Griezmann. “I’m a big fan of his since he was playing with Atlético [Madrid] and Real Sociedad. He’s the kind of player that I’ve always wanted to play with, the kind of player that I love to watch.”

Sonny revealed he’s hit up his LAFC teammate Hugo Lloris, a longtime comrade of Griezmann on the France national team, to source some swag for him.

“Hugo told me he’s going to get me one of his jerseys,” he explained. “I can’t wait to play against him, and I hope he’s doing well. He’s already doing well, but I hope he continues his performances, scoring all those goals in MLS for Orlando.”

Big-name summer signings

Griezmann is one of several prominent arrivals in the summer transfer window.

Chicago Fire FC are hoping for a similar impact from Polish marksman Robert Lewandowski – a “huge, huge signing,” as Sonny put it. Inter Miami CF just recruited Real Madrid and Manchester United alum Casemiro, who started for Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And Charlotte FC replaced Wilfried Zaha with former Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin earlier this month.

Star power of that wattage is not exactly new for MLS, which has welcomed globally-recognized faces since its birth three decades ago. But the flow may be approaching a tipping point, particularly with Lionel Messi still at the top of his game and the 2026 FIFA World Cup having just given dozens of elite players a firsthand tour of what’s on offer in North America.

“There's some really good names of players come in, and it’s certainly captured attention of what I would call other big-name players, because I've had a couple of texts already,” Charlotte and MLS All-Stars head coach Dean Smith said on Tuesday, adding that he believes this migration will be helped by next year’s shift to a fall-to-spring calendar to align with Europe’s top leagues.

“The likes of Griezmann coming into the league, and we've got Son here, with Thomas Müller here with us as well – when you start attracting them types of players, then I think that can only be good for the league, and encourage other people to come over.”

Like any industry, friends and colleagues keep in touch across the soccer world, and as more luminaries experience the league, they tend to pass along their perspectives to others considering a new chapter in their careers.

One notable twist: As the league’s overall quality rises, it becomes both a more challenging proposition and a more intriguing one for imports, who must themselves bring substantial value to merit a Designated Player slot, which remains limited to just three per club.

“It's always nice when the competition gets better and better,” Müller noted on Monday. “But for sure, even if you're a big name, you have to integrate yourself into the league. It's not that easy, as you maybe think. As I experienced it, since almost one year now, there is a big competition, and just because you have a big name in Europe, that doesn't mean that you're successful over here.”

Charlotte captain and English Premier League veteran Ashley Westwood echoed that warning.

“It's a unique league,” Westwood told MLSsoccer.com. “It's hard. It's got better in the short space I've been here. So listen, it's not easy to get here, and I think if you're coming here, you want to be here, and you want to be part of it. It's not just for fun and lifestyle. It's [that] you want to improve – improve the team and improve the league.”

Next up?

Rumors swirl around who might be next.

Names like Mo Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo have lately been linked to MLS moves, though many clubs are equally or more open to investment in less-famous reinforcements with fewer miles on the odometer, like San Diego FC’s acquisition of Tunisian international winger Elias Achouri and Toronto FC’s new engine-room addition Niklas Dorsch from the Bundesliga.

Ideally, these signings improve your team’s results immediately. The most prominent can goose revenue and raise relevance in your community. In the longer term, most will lift the level of the young domestic players around them as mentors and role models.

If you can hit on all three fronts, you might just win a trophy or two.

“You bring in guys like Griezmann, it improves the league dramatically right away,” said Toronto FC and Canada fullback Richie Laryea. “From that standpoint, I think the World Cup even helped as well for these teams to have seen Canada and the U.S. and see how beautiful some of the cities are and how nice the stadiums are, the facilities.

“All of that is going to play a big part in now some of these worldwide talents and global stars to see that coming over and playing this way is great, and it's a really good league with really good players as well.”

Thanks World, We'll Take it From Here - MLS is Back!