A-League clubs are struggling to compete financially with their Major League Soccer counterparts, according to Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata.
This summer, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard signed for LA Galaxy while Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo joined New York City from Chelsea and Juventus respectively.
In 2012, Sydney FC completed the signing of former Italy international Alessandro Del Piero, but Pignata says Australia's top tier now struggles to attract such high-profile names.
"There is no doubt that Alessandro Del Piero's signing helped the TV rights deal last time," Pignata told FourFourTwo.
"But in the MLS at the moment, the dollars that they are spending, we can't really compete.
"With what they are paying Steven Gerard, Frank Lampard and now Andrea Pirlo, it's priced us out of the water to be honest."
Pignata is, however, encouraged by the standard of A-League football, after Sydney FC gave a good account of themselves in 1-0 preseason losses against Tottenham and Chelsea.
"It's a testament to the league that the clubs can hold their own," he said.
"There is no doubt that our players, even though we are hamstrung by the salary cap, are very, very good players. No team's been thrashed by any of the overseas clubs this offseason.
"It's great that we're attracting teams like Chelsea and Tottenham to our shores and it's really highlighting the fact that playing against local teams is fantastic and the crowds have shown that.
"I was at the Real Madrid-Roma game, albeit great superstars, and it lacked that atmosphere that we had at the Chelsea-Tottenham game.
"There is no doubt that local A-League teams need to play these clubs."