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LARSON: BRADLEY LAUGHS OFF BEST XI SNUB

But while Bradley rebuffed claims that Saturday’s final is about vengeance, Toronto FC’s captain offered a slightly more nuanced take: That this weekend’s matchup is the sign of a healthy MLS.

“I think it’s great for the league that the biggest teams, the best clubs, the clubs that try to do things in the right ways, that aren’t afraid to go for it or spend money, are in the final,” Bradley told the Toronto Sun.

“There’s so much talk about the parity in the league,” he continued. “My personal opinion is you have to have a league with big clubs that are going to spend money and go after it, with mid-sized clubs that are going to (spend less money) but try to compete, and smaller clubs that don’t have the same budget but on any day can still win. That’s what makes a league.”

Big-spending sides like Toronto and New York City and Seattle have emerged as consistent title favourites alongside Atlanta – an expansion club that spent as much or more on transfer fees entering this season as it did on player salaries.

“You don’t want 22 teams that are on the same level,” Bradley said. “Part of the fun around other leagues and other sports is that there are big teams with history – teams that aren’t known for being the biggest but are known for upsetting teams.”

Columbus and Houston played spoiler during these playoffs before quality eventually won out. But nobody wanted to watch a Crew-Dynamo final. Big clubs are consistently being rewarded now for spending on players.