10 players who finished their career with an MLS payday from Lampard to Henry

Picture the scene – you have dominated football for years, you notice your legs are starting to go and the younger lads are running rings around you but you can still thump one in from 35 yards with no trouble.

The club you have forged your legendary status with no longer want to pay the big bucks to keep you on, though, and that is when your agent comes to you with something else.

"It's a club from the United States," they say. "They want to offer you a contract and double your wages."

The answer almost always is going to be a resounding yes – and that is exactly what these 10 former ballers did.

10. Kaka

There is always a hint of tragedy around Kaka's career after becoming an icon with AC Milan when his transfer to Real Madrid ultimately failed through a series of injuries.

But any sympathy evaporates when he became the highest-ever paid player in the MLS when he signed for Orlando City to become their first-ever player when they came into existence in 2014.

He would spend three years in America before calling it a day in 2017 after winning lists of trophies – including the Ballon d'Or in 2007.

9. Lothar Matthaus

Germany's most capped player of all-time with 150, the former midfielder famously led his country to World Cup glory in 1990 in the peak of his powers – beating Diego Maradona's Argentina.

“He is the greatest opponent I have had in my entire career and I think that's enough to describe him," Maradona once said of him, while he is also considered by many as the best midfielder ever.

But his career came to an end in the MLS when he signed for MetroStars in 2000 – now known as New York Red Bulls – though he would not hang around long making just 16 appearances before packing it in.

8. Carlos Valderrama

One of the most iconic players to grace the game, Valderrama's hair alone made him a standout star.

The Colombian spent much of his career across North and South America, interspersed with a spell in Europe with Montpellier and Real Valladolid but it is with his country he had most fame – leading a golden generation into three World Cups.

But his time on the pitch had to come to an end some time when in 2001 he spent one year with Colorado Rapids – almost a decade after becoming one of the MLS' first-ever players.

7. Shaun Wright-Phillips

The ex-England international comes from a large footballing family with Arsenal legend Ian Wright his father, while Shaun enjoyed spells with Manchester City, Chelsea and QPR.

Eventually, Wright-Phillips decided to see what all the fuss was about and join his brother Bradley in the MLS at New York Red Bulls.

He did stay long, though, leaving to join up with Drogba at Phoenix Rising a year later in 2017.

6. Didier Drogba

Chelsea fans will always recognise Drogba as the man to finally deliver their first-ever Champions League title during a fairytale campaign in 2012.

Over the years, the striker made mincemeat of defenders in the Premier League and left with a legacy of one of the best African players to grace the division.

In 2015, the Ivorian uprooted and left Europe for the MLS – signing for Montreal Impact before leaving for Phoenix Rising where he became the very first player-owner.

5. Thierry Henry

Undoubtedly, one of the best players to ever participate in the Premier League after some astonishing seasons with Arsenal and his goal record backs that up.

The Frenchman would leave his beloved Gunners for Barcelona in 2007 but his last hoorah would come three years after when he signed for New York Red Bulls.

He actually played more in the US than he did at the Nou Camp, which also included a loan spell back to Arsenal in 2012, before retiring in 2014.

4. Frank Lampard

A 13-year stint at Chelsea has made him a legend at the club, where he is their highest ever goalscorer despite being a midfielder.

After winning everything there is in football, he left the Blues for City in a controversial move in 2014 before departing just a season later.

He would sign for their sister club New York City FC for one last payday and spent one year where he went from being jeered by his own fans to being adored by them in the space of just a few months.

3. Bastian Schweinsteiger

Mr. Bavaria epitomises everything about Bayern Munich where he will go down as one of their best-ever players after spending – nearly – his entire professional career there.

Louis van Gaal managed to convince the midfielder to move to Manchester United with him but injuries were cruel to him in the Premier League and he left in 2017.

This time the MLS called in the form of Chicago Fire where Schweinsteiger found form and fitness, playing 92 times before hanging up his boots.

2. Andrea Pirlo

Perhaps one of the only football players that could swill a glass of wine while pinpointing a 50-yard pass, Pirlo reeks of class.

The former midfielder’s career has not been a bad one either, winning trophies for fun with AC Milan, Juventus and Italy.

Pirlo also joined up with Lampard at New York City FC in 2015 to make up an illustrious midfield but he would hang around for a bit longer, retiring in 2017.

1. Steven Gerrard

Liverpool’s best player of all-time, Gerrard is a one-club man but even he could not resist the dollar signs when they lit up.

As he looks set to take charge of his Premier League match as a manager from the Aston Villa dugout, the 41-year-old might reminisce about his time in the United States.

Much like his midfield foe Lampard, he moved across the pond in 2015 – however, he would join David Beckham’s old club LA Galaxy where he spent one year before calling time on his esteemed career.

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