Caden Clark will spend the 2022 MLS season with the New York Red Bulls, just like he did in '21 and for part of '20. But the hoops the Red Bulls had to jump through just to make this happen are all sorts of outrageous.
The Red Bulls had sold Clark, an 18-year-old U.S. prospect on the rise, to fellow Red Bulls property RB Leipzig in June 2021, with his move effective as of the recent January transfer window. Straightforward enough, right? Well, Leipzig elected to loan Clark back to the Red Bulls for '22 after all, and that's where things get complicated.
Because of Clark's status—a player who was transferred outside MLS for a fee of at least $500,000—he must go through MLS's allocation order to return to the league, even on loan, and even to a club that is owned by the loaning parent club. That order is used as a field-leveler, as a means to distribute players who have either been transferred out or have achieved a high enough status for U.S. senior or youth national teams to meet MLS's standard. In theory, for a league like MLS whose calling card is employing spending and acquisition restrictions in an effort to achieve parity, it can serve a useful utility.
