What is Alexi Lalas' Net Worth and Salary?
Alexi Lalas is a retired American soccer player who has a net worth of $3.5 million. During his professional soccer career, Alexi Lalas played mostly as a defender and is best known for being the standout player on the United States national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In the ensuing years Alexi has carved out an impressive broadcasting career, primarily around World Cups every few years.
Early Life
Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas was born on June 1, 1970, in Birmingham, Michigan, to a Greek father and American mother. Demetrios Lalas was the director of Greece's national observatory, and Anne Harding Woodworth a published poet. Alexi attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was named the 1987 Michigan High School Player of the Year in his senior year despite not taking interest in soccer until he was 11 years old. He was also a player and captain on the high school hockey team.
Alexi Lalas went on to Rutgers University and played on the men's soccer team from 1988 to 1991. The Scarlet Knights got to the NCAA Final Four in 1989 and the National Championship game in 1990. Lalas was named a third-team All-American in 1989 and 1990. And in 1991, he was named a first-team All-American and selected for the Hermann Trophy and Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year. Despite being interested in finishing his degree, he left Rutgers in 1991 to join the U.S. national team. He would later resume his education, thanks to online classes, and earn his bachelor's degree in English with a minor in music in 2014.
Soccer Career
Lalas trained with former Arsenal player Bob McNab in California after the 1992 Summer Olympics where he struggled to assume a first team spot. He had a few training sessions with the Reserve team before being cut, and he returned home from London to think about his future in soccer. Then coach Bora Milutinovic invited him to the United States tryouts.
And in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Alexi Lalas stood out as a top player with a distinctive long beard and long hair. He became known as a player with physical ability and a never-ending endurance on the pitch. After the 1994 World Cup, he went on to become the first American in Italy's Serie A as a member of the Calcio Padova. In 1996, he was one of the pioneers in the newly formed Major League Soccer (MLS) League and was a member of the New England Revolution team. He went on to play for several MLS squads including the MetroStars and the Kansas City Wizards, but his most successful stretch in the MLS was while playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy where he won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, and the MLS Cup. He retired from the sport in 2002. Alexi Lalas was elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.
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Post-Soccer Career
Shortly after his retirement, Alexi Lalas served as President and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, the New York Red Bulls, and the Los Angeles Galaxy. He worked alongside Bob Ley as the anchors for ESPN's 2014 World Cup coverage from the network's studio in Rio de Janeiro. Lalas has also worked as an analyst for ABC Sports and Fox Sports.
As a big rock music fan, Lalas played in the band The Gypsies who opened some European concerts for Hootie & the Blowfish in 1998. In addition, Alexi Lalas released seven solo albums over his music career.
Personal Life
Alexi Lalas is married and has two children. His younger brother, Greg, retired as a professional soccer player to become the Chief Marketing Officer at United Soccer League.
In addition to his native English and Greek, Lalas also speaks fluent Spanish and Italian.
