Columbus Crew announced this week that their superstar, Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernández, will depart for La Liga’s Real Betis after an incredible three-year stint with the club.
Cucho racked up a staggering 84 goal involvements in 94 matches with the Crew and took home an MLS Cup and a Leagues Cup along the way.
In doing so, he was named the MLS Cup MVP in 2023, and the Leagues Cup MVP in 2024.
His side also made a deep run in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last season, only falling to Mexican side, C.F. Pachuca, in the final.
Cucho was the Landon Donovan MLS MVP runner-up last season, with only the great Lionel Messi receiving more votes for the honor.
It took a reported $16M plus add-ons to pry the Columbian from Columbus.
It’s a hefty fee by MLS standards, but with the quality Cucho provided and the success the Crew saw in his tenure, fans league-wide have speculated whether the fee could’ve been even higher.
How Should Losing Cucho be Viewed?
Losing such a big player from a top side sparked discussion in MLS circles about whether or not such transfers are good for the league as a whole.
For this debate, there are general two frames of thought at play. The first regards MLS’s larger identity as a “selling league”.
It’s categorically a positive thing for MLS to be an active player in the global market.
If sides like Columbus Crew are even doing business with clubs of the caliber found in La Liga, whether, by incoming or outgoing transfer, it serves as a flattering benchmark for the league.
It provides a tangible example of the rising quality in MLS – something that’s often speculated but generally hard to truly prove.
Also, success stories like Cucho’s serve as good advertising for the league. If young talents worldwide know that they could earn a move to a top-5 league by performing well in MLS, then logically more quality players would consider such a move in the future.
Should Columbus have held out for more?
Columbus Crew fans, however, may feel that’s hardly a silver lining.
While it’s good on the macro level to be selling off good talent to bigger and better things, there’s an argument to be made for holding on to individual star power.
Cucho was the best player on a Columbus side that was genuinely in the “greatest MLS team of all time” discussion.
Losing him is to lose one of the great MLS talking points of the last few seasons.
Yes, fans are excited to see him grow, but they’re also devastated to see him go.
In a league always battling for eyeballs, having superstars is vital. Having great teams like Columbus is vital.
And, considering his incoming transfer fee from Watford was a reported $10M, the Crew are moving on from this stardom and greatness for just $6M in profit.
While the Colombian’s $16M fee is the 9th largest outbound transfer in league history, his MLS production outweighed all eight players above him on that list.
As such, it’s not unfair of Crew fans to have wanted more from that deal.
Columbus Did Right by Their Man
But of course, there’s Cucho’s say in all this as well. If the superstar wanted a move to Europe and to play for a historic side like Betis, it’s hard to stand in his way.
Realistically, there was very little left to achieve for Cucho in Columbus, given the trophies they’ve already won together.
And, with how dominant he’s proven to be at an MLS level, it’s only natural for Cucho to want to test himself at the next level.
Could Columbus have demanded a little more cash? Probably.
But is that worth souring the relationship with a club legend and risking a holdout situation? Probably not.
All told it’s hard to argue that three years of service, 58 goals, 26 assists, two major trophies, and $6M in profit is bad business.
Whether the transfer is “good for the league” or not, Cucho was certainly good for the Columbus Crew.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto
Recording Date: 06.03.2024