Minnesota United FC had won before it took the pitch Saturday against Swansea City AFC at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The fact that United became the first Minnesota pro soccer club to play an English Premier League side was just the latest victory.

As United owner Bill McGuire explores a cloaked bid to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Minnesota, the former UnitedHealth Group CEO has high expectations for his current club to be among the best in North America. The Loons took an initial step in June by becoming the spring season champions in the second-tier North American Soccer League.

United has controlled the pace of play off the pitch, too. The club has offered compensation to players that is competitive with what MLS teams offer and has built a reserve team that plays in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League.

In the front office, staff has increased from five to about 35 employees — believed to be the largest staff in the NASL — and they are working on a “substantial” deal to add a sponsor to the front of their jerseys.

“We want people to know that the soccer club that they’ve been waiting for is finally here in the Twin Cities,” United President Nick Rogers said.

In a market with four major pro franchises as well as the WNBA’s Lynx and the Big Ten’s Gophers, United has opened its checkbook to attract talent. Rogers said that doesn’t mean a blank check from McGuire, who was once estimated to have a net worth in excess of $1 billlion.

Some of United’s best players “earn a very respectable living,” Rogers said, while lesser players have to supplement their income with coaching gigs or side jobs.

“Last offseason, I had a guy turn down an offer for more money than MLS was offering because he wanted the bright lights of MLS,” Rogers said. But also, “We’ve had guys say, ‘I like this (NASL) and this is more money than I can make in MLS, so I want to stay here.’ ”

Rogers said United is not going after marquee players such as U.S. national team members Clint Dempsey, who left Tottenham of the English Premier League in 2013 for about $5 million per year offered by the Seattle Sounders FC.

United is working on building its depth, though. Its reserve team plays home games at East Ridge High School, and it traveled to Michigan for playoffs this weekend.

One purpose of the reserve team could be having the ability to send Loons to play rehab assignments there in a similar fashion to major league baseball.

“There is an opportunity for us do things the right way,” Rogers said. “When you talk about being one of the best clubs, it’s building up that soccer pyramid, so to speak.”

The base of the pyramid also is being constructed with United youth camps across the Twin Cities metro area.

“We think that’s a great way to get in front of kids, who are the future of the fan base, and sharing the game with them the right way,” Rogers said.

On the infrastructure side, United plans to set up a training facility in Woodbury’s Bielenberg Sports Center. United hoped to be there already this summer, but construction delays have yet to make that happen.

“It’s a big part of recruiting the right players, who look at what we are doing as a club and say, ‘How do we get treated? Where do we train?’ ” Rogers said. “That is going to be good for us in the long run.”

And then there’s building a possible soccer-specific stadium — a key component to a possible MLS bid.

“We are exploring this notion of a stadium and what that might look like,” Rogers said. “It’s something that we are learning about and seeing how that figures into our future.”

There are a lot of facets to United’s future.

Follow Andy Greder at twitter.com/andygreder.