U.S. national team right back Reggie Cannon has said that Portugal’s Primeira Liga is “much more intense and much harder to play in” than MLS.
Cannon came up through the storied FC Dallas academy before jumping to the first team, where he established himself as one of the top young defenders in MLS. In 2020, he made the jump to Europe when he joined Boavista in the Portuguese top flight.
The 25-year-old became a key figure at Boavista over three seasons, as the club battled relegation at various points of all three campaigns but managed to survive each time.
After spending significant time in both MLS and the Portuguese top flight, Cannon didn’t hesitate when asked to compare both leagues.
“l just going to come out right out and say it, the Primeira Liga is much more intense and much harder to play in than Major League Soccer,” Cannon said in an interview with ESPN’s “Futbol Americas.”
“That’s no slight to Major League Soccer. It’s obviously grown, it’s obviously improved, but there’s nothing that will compare to having a life-or-death game on the line,” he added. “When you’re in the last game of the season, your fans are surrounding the game and if you lose, it’s 1-1 in the 90th minute, you get relegated.
“That type of intensity won’t be replicated because it’s so important for our players’ growth and development. And you can just see on the players that they have to give everything. It’s not just, ‘Oh, we didn’t make the playoffs, we have three months off and go on vacation.’ It’s real and it’s life or death over there.”
Cannon is now a free agent after he terminated his Boavista deal for cause. He said in the interview that during his entire stay at the club, he was only paid on time once.
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