“They want to make soccer big in the United States,” Pele told CNN in 2011. “That was the reason [I went]. I started my mission.”

Aged 34 at the time, he stirred huge public interest and crowd numbers soared. Averaging below 10,000 a match before his arrival, Cosmos attendances surged to over 40,000. Pele took to the New York nightlife but did not neglect his duties on the pitch, inspiring the team to a Football Bowl title in 1977.

His endorsement of the NASL prompted other legends such as Franz Beckenbauer and George Best to sign up – though it was to crash and burn in 1984.

Gabriel Batistuta to Qatar’s Al-Arabi

The Argentine striker took the high road to Qatar’s previously low-key Q-League in 2003 on a free transfer and reportedly received US$8million to join Al Arabi.

His eye for goal, which had seen him score prolifically for Serie A sides Fiorentina and AS Roma, did not desert him in Doha. He netted a record 25 times for the club in his maiden season.

Batistuta was joined by Pep Guardiola, Frank de Boer and Marcel Desailly as Qatar raised its football profile in what was arguably a key first step towards winning the rights to hosting the 2022 World Cup.

Zico to Japan’s Sumitomo Metals

His exploits on the pitch earned him a stint as Brazil’s sports minister, but despite being in his early forties he broke off his nascent political career to play for second-tier Japanese side Sumitomo Metals.

The task was to secure them a place in the first ever Japanese professional league, which was due to kick off its inaugural season in 1993.

Even in early middle age, the Brazilian inspired them to promotion and then to the runners-up spot in the J League, and the club changed its name to Kashima Antlers.

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There is a statue of him outside Kashima’s stadium and he draws great pleasure from the subsequent success of Japanese football. This month, Urawa Red Diamonds won their third Asian Champions League crown.

“It was all about starting from scratch and getting the direction right,” Zico told Fifa.com last December.

“And look at Japan today. They haven’t missed one World Cup since the game went professional there. That’s pretty pleasing.”

David Beckham to LA Galaxy

It was quite a coup in 2007 when the MLS franchise secured the signature of arguably European football’s highest-profile player at the age of 32, bringing to an end his time as one of Real Madrid’s Galacticos.

Beckham’s five-year contract, paying him US$6.5 million a year, reaped dividends for Galaxy in terms of a new shirt deal and a huge rise in season ticket sales.

Of far more importance to the former England star, though, was the clause that stated he could buy an MLS franchise – with the exception of New York – in the future for a fixed rate of US$25 million. He duly exercised that right in 2014, purchasing Inter Miami.

“I’m not saying me coming over to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America,” Beckham said when he signed for Galaxy. “But I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could make a difference.”

Beckham inspired Galaxy to two MLS Cup successes before he returned to European football – with Messi’s current side Paris Saint-Germain.