Yahoo! Sports reports that Major League Soccer has entered a partnership deal with European powerhouse Barcelona. The deal will bring Barcelona to the US for 6 exhibition matches over the next 5 years.

I have to assume they would be coming to play MLS teams rather than other big teams from outside of MLS. If they were coming to play other teams I don’t see any positives for Major League Soccer in that deal. How much does a Barcelona vs. LA Galaxy exhibition game benefit MLS.

Maybe the Galaxy is the exception because people want to see Golden Balls - but when Barcelona comes to play the Colorado Rapids, they probably draw more fans than the Rapids do.  Obviously ticket and TV money is going to be nice, but what else is there?

Maybe there is more involved than just the 6 exhibition games that simply wasn’t mentioned in the article.  If it is just the 6 exhibition games why not just call it that?  I think a partnership would involve more than just a few friendly games.  What do you think?  Who has more to gain from this partnership?