Landon Donovan says Major League Soccer must spend in order to keep its top young talent.
Following the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, Donovan said the league needs more than just new foreign stars, such as New York's Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez.
He cited the departures of forward Yura Movsisyan, who left Real Salt Lake after last season to sign with Denmark's Randers, and Chris Rolfe, a midfielder and forward who quit the Chicago Fire to join Denmark's AaB Aalborg this year.
Donovan's $2.05 million salary this season is more than 14 times the league's $138,169 average as of mid-June. He said MLS should make an effort to retain Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle and Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley, who both could leave for European clubs.
''We need to get to the point where financially we can compensate guys in the proper way to keep them around,'' Donovan said. ''That makes the league better from top to bottom.''
