How a Scotland international swapped Derby for Messi’s shirt, Mahomes meeting and MLS history

Johnny Russell hopes MLS represents his retirement home, but six years and counting of brushing shoulders with Lionel Messi will have been no easy payday.

For those who keep only a cursory eye on Major League Soccer, football’s top division in the United States is easily characterised as a place ageing stars go for one final payday, a league where the overall quality of play is of a low enough level that the game’s creaking greats can coast through the final years of their career. Retirement’s waiting room.

It is a notion hardly dispelled by Lionel Messi’s success with Inter Miami, with the greatest ageing great of them all collecting the payday to end all paydays.

But it is, of course, a theory ardent MLS observers would outright reject. Anyone watching closely can see how, over the past decade or so, the level of play and tactical thought within the league has improved manifold, while the general age profile of its best players has reduced.

Leading this hypothetical horde of chest-beating MLS guardians stands Johnny Russell, Sporting Kansas City’s Scottish captain.

“Maybe in years past, ageing European stars went over there and it was seen as a last payday for them,” he tells Football365. “But I could see the league was changing. That’s why I made the decision to go there when I was 27. I could see that they were trying to get younger players.

“Yes, there were still some older stars who would go. But I could see the trend of the league changing. And you can see it now, since the time I came in 2018, the way teams are going after young players, especially young South American players, and selling them on.

“The league has grown every year since I’ve been here. Teams are going after younger talent. Teams are improving every year. They’re constantly changing rules in the league to give room for exciting talent to come in. Europe is always going to be what people see as the pinnacle, but the ambition of the teams and the ownership in this league, it wouldn’t surprise me if one day they get close to that.

“You’re never going to change everybody’s mind, but I’ll defend against it.”

Russell was himself accused of taking the easy option when, after leaving Derby County as a free agent, he signed with Sporting KC. His defence to those claims is pretty compelling – nobody retires to Missouri.

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“Even when I told Derby at the time about my decision, there were quotes that made it sound that I was going for an easy life, going to live in America for the lifestyle,” he says.

“No disrespect: if I was interested in that, I would have gone to the other clubs that were interested over coming to Kansas City. I wanted to go and do something different. And I wanted to make sure it was a team that would suit me.

“I’d watched the league for years, especially after our games; you’d be up late anyway and the [MLS] games were on, so I’d sit and watch them through the night.

“Leading into the Christmas window, when my contract was running out in six months, I knew there was real interest [from MLS]. There were a few different clubs that were interested. Kansas put a ‘discovery tag’ on me, which basically gave them dibs on me. Once you do that, you’ve got a certain amount of time to speak and agree on something or you come off it – I’m still not sure how it works!

“After I spoke with Peter Vermes, the manager, I watched a lot of footage and the way they played at the time was very similar to the way we [at Derby] played under Steve McClaren, which is when we were at our very best, that year we got to the play-off final. My role would be very similar to the way it was in that team.

“Everything fit. I was looking for something different, a different challenge. When I left Scotland, my intention was never to go to England. My intention was to break the mould of ‘young Scottish guy does well, goes to England’. I wanted to go abroad, learn a new language, a different culture. I always wanted to try something different and throw myself into it. I made the decision and I never looked back.”

Part of Russell’s swift adaptation to life in the US and, in particular, in Kansas City, can be attributed to his long-held love of all things Americana. A muscle car enthusiast, his first major purchase upon landing in the States was a limited-edition Chevrolet Camaro.

He was already an avid NFL fan, too, having regularly attended gridiron games in London with his Derby teammates. His move to MLS just happened to place him in the city that would soon serve as the epicentre of the NFL. He bought season tickets for the Kansas City Chiefs and has since seen three Super Bowl triumphs alongside the rise of quarter-back Patrick Mahomes, who is now a minority owner of Sporting Kansas City.

Through their KC connection, Russell has gotten to know Mahomes and Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce (aka Mr Taylor Swift). And earlier this season, he got to play at their iconic home stadium, Arrowhead, for the visit of Messi and Inter Miami, coming off the bench in a 3-2 loss.

“It was massive,” he says of the match attended by a record-setting 72,000 fans. “I was just coming back from a hamstring injury at the time. I didn’t train much the week before. My daughter was born on the Wednesday, so I pretty much missed everything but the last day or two of training before the game.

“Luckily, I managed to get myself on the bench. The whole occasion – being a Chiefs fan and getting to play in Arrowhead against, for me, the best player who’s ever played the game. And my teammate Andreu Fontas, one of my close friends, played with Messi in Barcelona. He got me his jersey after the game.”

Just as Kansas City has been the right fit for Russell, the past eight seasons have proven unequivocally that the former Dundee United man has been the perfect fit for the club. In his first Stateside season, the 14-cap Scottish winger scored 10 league goals from 30 appearances, the second-highest return of his career. He has been named the team’s MVP twice – including once following a stellar campaign in 2020 that saw him score 15 MLS goals – and Offensive MVP three times, while also leading the Wizards to top spot in the Western Conference on two occasions.

And later this month, Russell will have the opportunity to land the first silverware of his career, as Sporting face Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final.

But while fellow Scots Lewis Morgan and Ryan Gauld have recently earned Scotland recalls for their performances in MLS, Russell, who has not represented the Tartan Army since 2019, doesn’t expect international recognition. The 34-year-old instead has his focus trained firmly on MLS matters.

“I’m realistic about my situation,” Russell says. “I’ve not been in the squad for a few years now. Obviously, I’d be delighted to get back in and I’d never turn down the opportunity. But I haven’t been in it for a while. I had a really good year two seasons ago and I didn’t get back in the squad. So I know where I am. That’s not really an ambition.

“We need to get ourselves back in the play-off hunt over here and we’ve got a cup final to look forward to as well. Hopefully there’s going to be a trophy at the end of the season for me and my team. That’s the ambition. And I’d like to extend my stay here, as well. I’m in the last year of my contract. I’m hoping to extend that for another two or three years.

“I’m not getting any younger. There’s less time than I would like. This is my 19th season. I know there are not too many of those left, so I’m just trying to enjoy every day. I’m the captain of my team and we’ve got the chance to win a trophy. That’s the goal.”

If Russell gets his wish, MLS will be his retirement league. And after six years – and counting – of toiling up and down the wing at Children’s Mercy Park, no-one can accuse him of taking an easy payday.