In a league like Major League Soccer in which team’s rosters are restricted by both designations, particular player definitions, and overarching salary caps, being efficient with your money is vital to assembling a team capable of contending.
Whether it is making the most of your three Designated Player slots or exploiting the Target Allocation Money, buying down particular contracts and signing productive players, there are plenty of decisions that MLS clubs will make every year that are all in the purpose of efficiently exploiting their resources.
One type of player acquisition that has proven invaluable to many teams over the years is signing a formerly unused, unwanted and overpaid player that the selling team is desperate to get rid of on the cheap and revitalising their career thanks to their new team, surroundings and coach.