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The MLS 100: Vela, Josef Martinez and Lodeiro headline list of top MLS players

While some of Major League Soccer’s most high-profile players said goodbye to the league after the 2019 season, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger, MLS still boasts some impressive firepower as it heads into its 25th season.

An influx of Latin American players, including a trio of Mexican stars, has helped restock the MLS talent pool. With more money to spend in the form of Targeted Allocation Money, MLS teams have more resources to land a better caliber talent, and that is showing in the building of some of the league’s strongest rosters.

The MLS 100 is SBI’s rundown of the Top 100 players in the league heading into the 2020 season. It is a list based not just on stats like goals and assists, but based in a variety of factors, including MLS productivity, potential, and for MLS newcomers, quality shown prior to arriving in MLS. It should also be noted that players with long-term injuries, like Paul Arriola and Michael Bradley, were excluded, as was FC Dallas signing Franco Jara, who won’t arrive in MLS until the summer.

The Top 100 does feature several MLS newcomers, with a total of 17 players on the list who will be looking to play their first MLS match this weekend.

All 26 teams are represented in the MLS 100, with Los Angeles FC leading the way with a whopping nine selections. The Seattle Sounders ans New York City FC check in with seven selections each, while FC Dallas boasts six selections. Atlanta United, Philadelphia Union, LA Galaxy, Toronto FC and Minnesota United each feature five picks in the top 100.

Now, without further ado, here are the Top 100 players in MLS heading into the 2020 season.

1. CARLOS VELA

2. JOSEF MARTINEZ

3. NICOLAS LODEIRO

4. ALEJANDRO POZUELO

5. MAXI MORALEZ

6. PITY MARTINEZ

7. JONATHAN DOS SANTOS

8. JAVIER HERNANDEZ

9. EDUARD ATUESTA

10. CRISTIAN PAVON

11. RODOLFO PIZARRO

12. DIEGO ROSSI

13. CARLES GIL

14. DARLINGTON NAGBE

15. RAUL RUIDIAZ

16. EZEQUIEL BARCO

17. AARON LONG

18. JORDAN MORRIS

19. DIEGO VALERI

20. JOZY ALTIDORE

21. SEBASTIAN BLANCO

22. MILES ROBINSON

23. ALBERTH ELIS

24. ALAN PULIDO

25. DIEGO CHARA

26. IKE OPARA

27. GUSTAVO BOU

28. SEBASTIAN LLETGET

29. ANDRE BLAKE

30. NANI

31. KAKU

32. ALBERT RUSNAK

33. LUCAS ZELARAYAN

34. HEBER

35. JOAO PAULO

36. EDISON FLORES

37. JAMIRO MONTEIRO

38. LUCAS CAVALLINI

39. MAURO MANOTAS

40. CRISTIAN ROLDAN

41. WALKER ZIMMERMAN

42. GYASI ZARDES

43. FELIPE GUTIERREZ

44. BILL HAMID

45. DARWIN QUINTERO

46. ALEXANDRU MITRITA

47. JULIAN GRESSEL

48. CRISTIAN ESPINOZA

49. KACPER PRZYBYLKO

50. MARK-ANTHONY KAYE

51. YIMMI CHARA

52. EDDIE SEGURA

53. PABLO PIATTI

54. HANY MUKHTAR

55. JULIAN CARRANZA

56. JAN GREGUS

57. SEAN JOHNSON

58. DAMIR KREILACH

59. ALEJANDRO BEDOYA

60. ALEXANDER RING

61. VAKO

62. STEFAN FREI

63. JURGEN LOCADIA

64. JONATHAN OSORIO

65. ANTON TINNERHOLM

66. MATT HEDGES

67. GUSTAV SVENSSON

68. KAI WAGNER

69. DANIEL ROYER

70. BRIAN RODRIGUEZ

71. ROMAIN METANIRE

72. SAPHIR TAIDER

73. PEDRO SANTOS

74. REGGIE CANNON

75. KEI KAMARA

76.  BRAD GUZAN

77. JESUS FERREIRA

78. GASTON GIMENEZ

79. SIEM DE JONG

80. JACKSON YUEILL

81. VALENTIN CATELLANOS

82. ADAMA DIOMANDE

83. OSVALDO ALONSO

84. STEVE BIRNBAUM

85. NICO FIGAL

86. LATIF BLESSING

87. WIL TRAPP

88. ADAM BUKSA

89. JOHNNY RUSSELL

90. ALEKSANDAR KATAI

91. ALI ADNAN

92. MATT TURNER

93. PAXTON POMYKAL

94. MARKY DELGADO

95. MICHAEL BARRIOS

96. TRISTAN BLACKMON

97. LUIS AMARILLA

98. KENDALL WASTON

99. RYAN HOLLINGSHEAD

100. NICK LIMA

Comments

    • He had 1 goal and 3 assists in 17 appearances last season so not ridiculous. I’m not sure how you rank some these guys that have 2 matches total in mls. He’s playing more centrally than last yea so maybe that will make him more productive. He’s got 2g already this year but played Nashville and Cincinnati two times likely to be at the bottom of the east.

      Reply
  1. All I hear when I see this list is Jermaine Jones saying: “There are some players that play national team now, that are not national team players. This is why we struggle.”. Where do our National team regulars fall?

    TOP 10 in MLS
    ZERO – 0

    TOP 20 in MLS – 4
    14. DARLINGTON NAGBE
    17. AARON LONG ??
    18. JORDAN MORRIS ??
    20. JOZY ALTIDORE ??

    TOP 30 in MLS – 3
    22. MILES ROBINSON
    26. IKE OPARA
    28. SEBASTIAN LLETGET ??

    TOP 40 in MLS – 1
    40. CRISTIAN ROLDAN ??

    TOP 50 in MLS – 3
    41. WALKER ZIMMERMAN ??
    42. GYASI ZARDES ??
    44. BILL HAMID

    Very interesting…..

    Reply
    • Despite LAFC having 9 players in the top 100, none of them are national team players and only #96 is even US eligible. Perhaps Bizzy, you might agree more with Bob Bradley than you think you do.

      Reply
      • I don’t want to speak for Bizzy but I think his dislike is manly towards Michael not Bob.

    • Who started against Canada in Nov. that is not on this list that plays in MLS? Jones comment is only pertinent if there were Americans on the list that aren’t playing for the NT. Opara is the only one I saw that seems open to playing that isn’t being called. The others I noticed in Top 100 were Birnbuam and Hedges but their behind Zim and Long, M Rob and the Euro CBs. Frei but there is Steffen ahead and Hamid and s Johnson, Guzan is ranked one GK spot behind but has tons more experience so not a huge slight.

      Reply
  2. Changing up the top three based on some number following their name.

    1) Niko Lodeiro 2
    2) J Martinez 1
    3) Vela 0

    Reply
  3. Interesting that BWP did not make the list. If you include BWP and Palacios, LAFC has 11 players who would make this list. Then, of a starting 11 for LAFC, only the keeper and a center back would not be on this list, 2 of the 11 would be subs.

    Reply

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