As an Englishman covering Major League Soccer, I have a unique insight into the global perspective of the league. The old ‘retirement league’ tag that it often gets brandished with does carry some significance outside of the States, and even within the States for some portions of the sporting public.
However, while that label will preside with MLS for some time — as long as players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney are arriving, the league will never shake it, irrespective of the general trend of the demographic of the players –, there is a shift in the nature of the league, and a big one at that.