Power Rankings: Where does your team start the 2025 MLS season?
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025, 11:04 PM
The Power Rankings are back. You’re welcome. Or, um, we’re sorry? I’ve been doing this like four years now and it’s never been clear which.
What’s clear is a collection of Major League Soccer soccer dot com experts and experts adjacent got together and did their best to rank each team from 1 → 30 based on whatever “power” means. We averaged those rankings out and got the list you see below.
Think of this less like a preseason prediction and more like a preseason Rorschach test for each team that tells us we’re all broken in some way.
The Supporters’ Shield is still here. Lionel Messi is still here. And the questions that followed Inter Miami for all of 2024 until they crashed out of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs are still here, too.
Can the additions of midfielder Telasco Segovia and defenders Gonzalo Luján and Maxi Falcón (plus a full season of center back David Martínez) help them sort out those defensive issues? And can they really keep outrunning their underlying numbers? Because, folks, take out Messi and Luis Suárez’s comical 16 goals worth of overperformance and Inter Miami still would have ended up as the eighth-most overperforming team in American Soccer Analysis’ database (back to 2013).
Anyway, it’s cups (plural) or bust for this group in 2025. It’s weird to say it, but a second straight Supporters’ Shield alone won’t be enough to call this year a success.
Next: 2/22 vs. NYC
Things aren’t going to feel the same for the defending MLS Cup champs.
Star No. 10 Riqui Puig isn’t expected back from his ACL tear until late in the season and striker Dejan Joveljić got traded to Sporting KC. Key midfielders Gastón Brugman and Mark Delgado got traded within MLS, too.
Year two of Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec on the wings should make all those losses relatively manageable, though. Also, looking at the sixth star above their crest always helps.
Next: 2/23 vs. SD
LAFC went out this winter and did a whole bunch to remind everyone of their pre-2022 offseason. Basically, they added a whole handful of proven MLS Guys to an already impressive roster.
Former San Jose striker Jeremy Ebobisse, former Galaxy midfielder Mark Delgado and former FC Dallas center back Nkosi Tafari are all here (among others). Those are the kind of smart moves we’ve come to expect from one of the best front offices in MLS.
However, we’ve gotta point out how the central midfield is basically entirely remade and attackers Mateusz Bogusz and Cristian Olivera are gone, too. There are some questions Steve Cherundolo’s group needs to answer early on.
Next: 2/22 vs. MIN
Yeah, they’re fourth in “power,” but some believe Seattle are the odds-on favorite to win the Western Conference this year after adding former FC Dallas standouts Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola.
They’ll be your typically stout Seattle side with a needed dose of attacking flexibility (and a ready-made stand-in if DP Pedro de la Vega can’t stay healthy). With all the questions surrounding the LAs, Seattle’s floor is the highest in the conference.
Next: 2/22 vs. CLT
You might have spent a few days panicking about 2023 MLS MVP Luciano Acosta leaving for FC Dallas. That’s understandable. He might have been even better in 2024. But you can go ahead and stop panicking now.
In typical Cincy fashion, they immediately spent big to find a more-than-suitable replacement. Evander arrives from Portland after a 15-goal, 19-assist season that would have been MVP-caliber in any other year. On top of that, they splashed a then-MLS-record $16.2 million on striker Kévin Denkey. Expectations should be sky-high once again.
(Man, imagine showing this blurb to someone in 2021.)
Next: 2/22 vs. RBNY
“Atlanta United are back” is back. Maybe, just maybe, it has some merit this time.
The Five Stripes had an all-timer of an MLS offseason, swiping sporting director Chris Henderson from Inter Miami, hiring former MLS Cup-winning head coach Ronny Deila, and spending reportedly roughly $33 million to bring back Miguel Almirón and add MLS-record transfer Emmanuel Latte Lath. Somewhere along the way, they added D.C. United DP midfielder Mateusz Klich for practically nothing.
If “Atlanta United are back” isn’t true this time, it may never be.
Next: 2/22 vs. MTL
No one gets rich betting against a Wilfried Nancy-led team. But, man, this will be more of an uphill battle than expected after the departure of superstar striker Cucho Hernández to LaLiga side Real Betis.
Columbus will spend to bring in a replacement, but it’s unclear when. Also, Cucho was a unicorn. He did everything at an extremely high level; you don’t just find another player like him lying around.
The Crew’s ceiling is limited until they find a solution. It’s the first time in a long time there are actual concerns with a Nancy-led team.
Next: 2/22 vs. CHI
Charlotte seem primed to pile up points. They should be strong defensively and they’ve added DP winger Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He should elevate an attack that doesn’t have to be elite for this team to be successful. They should be better and more cohesive than the 2024 side that earned 51 points.
Next: 2/22 at SEA
Orlando City had two major concerns this offseason after DP winger Facundo Torres was transferred to Palmeiras (for reportedly up to $14 million) and central midfielder Wilder Cartagena picked up a season-ending Achilles injury.
They’ve replaced Torres with Croatian winger Marco Pašalić, who arrives as a DP from the Croatian first division. We’ll just have to assume Orlando know something we don’t there. They’ve replaced Cartagena with Eduard Atuesta, who arrives as a proven high-level MLS starter and clearly makes the team better. We’ll have to give Orlando full marks there.
Will those moves be enough to improve on last year’s Eastern Conference Final appearance?
Next: 2/22 vs. PHI
New York added DP striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and jettisoned former DP striker Dante Vanzeir. There’s some concern about the defense after the departures of John Tolkin and Andrés Reyes. Yet, as always, the Red Bulls’ success likely comes down to whether Choupo-Moting and DP To Be Named Later can lift their attack to somewhere near 2018 levels.
It will be tough to follow up an MLS Cup appearance, but the 2025 regular season will be more enjoyable than 2024 if those new pieces are clicking and Emil Forsberg remains healthy.
Next: 2/22 at CIN
If DP striker Kelvin Yeboah is as good as the 9g/2a in his first 12 MLS matches suggest he is, Minnesota will be just fine. They’re at least a top-tier central midfielder away from truly contending, but there’s significant upside during Eric Ramsay’s second year in charge.
Next: 2/22 at LAFC
It’s not a bad idea to default to placing New York City FC this high, but there are more question marks around this team than normal.
Central midfielder James Sands is injured long-term (after being loaned to FC St. Pauli), attacking midfielder Santiago Rodríguez is reportedly set to join Botafogo, and new head coach Pascal Jansen is an unknown in MLS.
They’ll have DP flexibility if Rodríguez indeed leaves… but, as always, NYCFC are leaving their big offseason moves a bit late for everyone’s comfort. As of now, a team that finished sixth in the Eastern Conference last year hasn’t improved.
Next: 2/22 at MIA
Houston at No. 13 is… well, it’s not a Puig-less LA at No. 2. But still, I’ve got a dissenting opinion.
The Dynamo lost midfielders Coco Carrasquilla and Héctor Herrera this offseason. They added Philadelphia’s Jack McGlynn via trade to help compensate for those subtractions, but replacing them is easier said than done. Elsewhere, it’s largely the same team. They have an open DP spot and need to use it, likely on a No. 10.
Next: 2/22 vs. DAL
Austin might be the most interesting team in the Western Conference?
They unexpectedly hired ex-FC Dallas manager Nico Estévez, then turned heads when reportedly spending $20+ million combined to acquire DP forwards Myrto Uzuni and Brandon Vazquez. Add in Osman Bukari and Austin broke their club-record transfer three times in about eight months.
Also, they’ve got a reworked midfield with Nicolás Dubersarsky, Ilie Sánchez and Besard Sabovic joining this offseason. Should be fun!
Next: 2/22 vs. SKC
Last year, the Rapids took a major step forward in attack after a busy 2023-24 offseason. However, their defense did not get the memo. Can the additions of center backs Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy from Cincy and midfielder Josh Atencio from Seattle correct that?
Next: 2/22 at STL
It’s been a relatively quiet offseason in St. Louis, but new head coach Olof Mellberg seemingly has talent to work with after last year’s midseason additions of Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert in attack looked like bonafide plus-starters in MLS.
A full season with Hartel and Teuchert, plus a refreshed game model, could be enough to get St. Louis back to the playoffs.
Next: 2/22 vs. COL
There are serious concerns here after the departures of forwards Chicho Arango and Anderson Julio. DP No. 10 Diogo Gonçalves didn’t immediately click last season and, quite frankly, this team hasn’t looked the same since losing Andrés Gómez last August.
Next: 2/22 at SJ
If Austin aren’t the most interesting team in the Western Conference, San Jose are.
Bruce Arena is in charge now and immediately got to work doing Bruce Arena things. Former Arena-era Revs Mark-Anthony Kaye, Dave Romney, Earl Edwards Jr. and Ian Harkes have reunited with their old coach in San Jose. Meanwhile, Chicho Arango and Josef Martínez have arrived as the club’s new strikers.
Arena has won big everywhere he’s been in MLS, and a very Arena-esque roster is starting to take shape.
Next: 2/22 vs. RSL
It’s tough to be sold on the Timbers after losing Evander, but they at least had a contingency plan ready to go. Portland immediately struck a deal to acquire DP midfielder David Da Costa from Ligue 1’s RC Lens. Evander is a mighty tough act to follow, though.
Next: 2/23 vs. VAN
The Stuart Armstrong era came and went in an instant. Now, the Whitecaps are again looking for a third DP. Until they add one and he stays around a while, Vancouver’s station as a good-but-not-great team is unlikely to change.
Next: 2/23 at POR
It’s officially Caleb Porter’s team after the Revs worked overtime to reshape their roster. The big additions are striker Leo Campana, winger Ignatius Ganago, midfielder Jackson Yueill, and center backs Brayan Ceballos and Mamadou Fofana. As a whole, this group has a ton of unknowns.
Next: 2/22 at NSH
A quick check on our patented Chicago Fire FC Season Timeline.
I can see it → Oh, no → Oh, yikes, no → Well, maybe → Nope → But let’s just… → Oh, ok immediate no on that → But what if they tweak this → This looks better! → OH NO. THEY GOT ME AGAIN → No. → I’m not falling for that → No, forever. → Offseason → I can see it.
We’ve never been more at “I can see it” than right now. New head coach and director of football Gregg Berhalter has already started utilizing Chicago’s deep pockets. DP winger Jonathan Bamba is the standout of their new additions and they still have an open DP spot to utilize when they want. For the first time in a long time, things genuinely feel like they’re heading in the right direction.
Next: 2/22 at CLB
FC Dallas had plenty to worry about and then Lucho Acosta showed up. They may not be an elite side on paper yet, but Acosta is a superstar who should only make Petar Musa better.
Also, moves for central midfielder Ramiro, wingers Anderson Julio and Léo Chú, and defenders Shaq Moore and Osaze Urhoghide give Dallas some extra upside. Don’t count them out in year one under head coach Eric Quill.
Next: 2/22 at HOU
No. 24 feels… maybe a little high. D.C. have reigning Golden Boot presented by Audi winner Christian Benteke, but are missing other high-level pieces. There are real worries here.
Next: 2/22 vs. TOR
Montréal might be the youngest team in the league this year, which at least makes them interesting. This could go so many ways.
Next: 2/22 at ATL
How much different will Nashville look during B.J. Callaghan’s first full year in charge? A new and more viewer-friendly game model can only take you so far if the pieces aren’t there. Maybe the additions of midfielders Edvard Tagseth and Gastón Brugman can make what’s new truly matter.
Next: 2/22 vs. NE
It’s been years since we’ve thought about Philadelphia sitting this low, but here we are. Bradley Carnell has replaced Jim Curtin as head coach and Jack Elliott, Leon Flach and Jack McGlynn are all gone. The teardown of the best Union side we’ve ever seen is essentially complete. Now, we’ll find out how far Energy Drink Soccer can take this roster.
Next: 2/22 at ORL
Starting out higher than 30th as an expansion side is a tremendous accomplishment (or an indictment of the teams below them). San Diego’s roster already includes DP wingers Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer, USMNTer/San Diego native Luca de la Torre in midfield, and former Red Bulls center back Andrés Reyes as the centerpiece of their defense. They’re already trending more towards LAFC than FC Cincinnati on the expansion spectrum.
Next: 2/23 at LA
Sporting KC added two new DPs in LA Galaxy striker Dejan Joveljić and No. 10 Manu García. There are still real questions almost everywhere else though, especially in defense.
Next: 2/22 at ATX
Robin Fraser’s first year in charge will be about laying the foundation for something better to come.
Next: 2/22 at DC
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Major League Soccer enters its 30th season as the biggest soccer league in the world. Not the best, nor the most popular; but, with 30 teams scattered coast to coast, across two countries and four time zones, it is vast. And its vastness, in many ways, is an emblem of success.
MLS survived a rocky first decade. It has grown, in almost every sense of the word, since. With the introduction of San Diego FC in 2025, it has tripled in size. Its franchise valuations have increased twentyfold. Its geographic footprint is now on par with that of the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB.
Its vastness, however, is also a problem. To the casual soccer fan or U.S. sports fan, most of its 30 clubs are nondescript. Its expansion — although great for business — and its regulated parity — although great for controlling costs and competitive balance — have muddled the development of catchy narratives that don’t involve Lionel Messi, and the ability of clubs to differentiate themselves beyond their local markets.
In the other major U.S. leagues, there is space for 30 teams because those 30 are the 30 best in the world. The Buffalo Bills don’t compete with the Munich Cowboys for American attention. The Golden State Warriors and Boston Red Sox don’t compete with clubs in Mexico and England for programming hours, media dollars and headspace.
But MLS does. It must give fans (and media) reasons to care about and talk about its teams, rather than about Monterrey or Tottenham Hotspur or Barcelona — and rather than about the Bills, Warriors or Red Sox.
Its advantage, of course, is locality. MLS clubs offer soccer that fans can reach out and touch. Many have captivated core groups of supporters, and fostered community, and carved out space in their cities or regions. Their per-match attendance now tops 23,000, and ranks fifth among domestic soccer leagues worldwide. This is the MLS success story. Every recent expansion team, from Atlanta to Cincinnati, from Charlotte to St. Louis, has thrived.
But they still struggle for national and international relevance. The 2024 MLS Cup final — contested by the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls, two supposedly “big-market” teams — was seen by a record-low 468,000 viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes. It also streamed on Apple TV, but, per Nielson estimates, it’s likely that fewer than 100,000 people watched there. The harsh reality is that the league, to a majority of U.S. sports fans and a majority of global soccer fans, still doesn’t really matter.
Its only clear path to broader relevance is to spend multiples more on players — something its owners and executives have shown little willingness to do. They frequently speak about being a “league of choice,” but they haven’t agreed on a plan to become one.
Instead, in the meantime, they will savor stability. Their broadcast rights now fetch $250 million per year from Apple. Expansion fees have skyrocketed from $7.5 million in 2005 to $500 million in San Diego. Billionaire after billionaire, gazing into a bright future, has wanted a piece of the MLS pie.
And the pie, undoubtedly, is growing. But with each slice of a knife, each piece becomes less distinguishable. MLS enters Year 30 with more teams than ever but little clarity on which to care about.
So that’s where we’ll begin our 2025 season preview: by picking out the handful of teams that deserve your attention.
MLS remains intentionally unpredictable, but the following seven clubs are safe bets for 2025 intrigue.
Duh. Messi and friends broke the single-season points record last year. They flopped in the playoffs, but they’re nonetheless an obvious 2025 favorite (at +350). Messi is still box-office gold. The unknown is how his apparently hand-picked coach, former Barcelona and Argentina teammate Javier Mascherano, will fare in his very first club coaching gig.
The defending champs have retooled on the fringes, but retained most of the high-flying core that stormed to a sixth MLS title in December. Riqui Puig, the West’s top entertainer, will spend most of the year recovering from a torn ACL, and winger Joseph Paintsil is also injured … but the Galaxy will surely be back in the mix come autumn.
They have the stars — Olivier Giroud, Denis Bouanga and more — to grab headlines. They have the infrastructure to sustain success. They’ve been perhaps the most consistently competitive club in MLS since joining the league in 2018. They should contend for a fourth Western Conference crown in 2025, and maybe a second MLS Cup.
The Crew have been the league’s gold standard for the better part of two years, with really only one exception: an inexplicable first-round playoff loss to the Red Bulls last November. Wilfried Nancy is still the league’s savviest, most coveted coach. Cucho Hernandez, last year’s runner-up to Messi for MVP, has departed to Real Betis in Spain for around $16 million; but no club is better equipped than Columbus to reload and still play exquisite soccer without him.
In one of the league’s smallest markets, FC Cincy has set a shining example for the rest of MLS. It has built a strong brand on one very simple tenet: winning. Its 2025 offseason was one of change (more on that below!), but its roster, on paper, still looks like one of the best — and perhaps the single most balanced — in MLS.
After a few chaotic, wearying years, Atlanta spent big to right its wobbling ship. Miguel Almirón, the creative force behind the club’s 2018 MLS title, is back. Ronny Deila, who led NYCFC to glory in 2021, is the new head coach. Chris Henderson, the non-Messi architect of 2024 Inter Miami, is the new sporting director. With so many moving parts, the Atlanta machine could once again combust … but it also could tear through the league. Either way, it’ll be fun to watch.
They’ve loaded up on phased-out USMNTers who double as trusted, occasionally prolific MLS veterans. Toss in designated player Pedro de la Vega and rising Mexican American star Obed Vargas, and the Sounders have nearly every ingredient of a title contender. (They’ll also represent MLS this summer in FIFA’s inaugural 32-team Club World Cup, which they should prioritize over the regular season; but come October and November, they’ll be all in on winning an MLS title.)
Beyond those seven, there will, of course, be stories and surprises. The Red Bulls could prove that last year’s playoff run was no fluke. Charlotte FC could be this year’s 2023 Cincinnati. The possibilities are endless.
But for now, those are the teams to watch. And below are the players …
The big legislative innovation of 2025 has been the introduction of an intraleague, cash-for-player transfer system. Previously, transactions within MLS required non-cash assets, such as draft picks or allocation money. Now, much like the rest of the soccer world, MLS clubs can buy players from MLS brethren.
And, over the past two months, they’ve been doing just that. The result is several familiar faces in new places …
The 2023 MVP’s ugly, protracted divorce with FC Cincy ended in a $5 million move to Dallas.
Cincy, within a week, turned around and used that money to smash the intraleague transfer record. It shelled out $12 million for another one of the league’s top playmakers. Evander will slot right into Acosta’s No. 10 position and fuel what should be a dynamic attack.
In the first-ever intraleague, cash-for-player trade, Sporting KC acquired one of the Galaxy’s 2024 playoff heroes. (The Galaxy then moved for a Columbus Crew 2023 playoff hero, Christian Ramirez.)
There were traditional trades and free agent movement as well. Chicho Arango, who scored or created 29 goals in 30 games for Real Salt Lake last season, is now in San Jose. So is Josef Martínez. Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira are now in Seattle. Mark Delgado moved across L.A., from the Galaxy to LAFC.
Among the other notable moves within MLS were:
Jack McGlynn, Philadelphia Union to Houston Dynamo
Josh Atencio, Seattle Sounders to Colorado Rapids
Mateusz Klich, D.C. United to Atlanta United
Ilie Sánchez, LAFC to Austin FC (as a free agent)
Eryk Williamson, Portland Timbers to Charlotte FC
Shaq Moore, Nashville SC to FC Dallas
Leonardo Campana, Inter Miami to New England Revolution
Jalen Neal, LA Galaxy to CF Montreal
As always, though, the bigger sources of excitement — and the bigger unknowns — are the new signings coming to MLS from abroad.
Remember when we said the Five Stripes spent big? They paid $22 million, by far an MLS-record sum, to sign Latte Lath, a 26-year-old Ivorian striker, from Middlesbrough in the English second division. And then …
… they brought Almirón back after the Paraguayan winger spent six up-and-down years at Newcastle in the Premier League.
Before Atlanta could usurp it atop the historical spending charts, Cincy broke the league record to bring in Denkey, a 24-year-old Togolese striker, from Cercle Brugge in Belgium. Together with Evander and Luca Orellano, he’ll spearhead what could be the league’s most dangerous non-Miami frontline.
San Diego’s first splashy signing has had a strange career arc. It seems like just yesterday that he was the hottest young thing in Mexican soccer. He went from Pachuca to PSV Eindhoven to Napoli … and then stagnated, so much so that, at 29 years old, he’s been out of the national team for a year, and his route back is via MLS.
The expansion team’s other headliner is the only U.S. men’s national team regular to join MLS this winter. (De la Torre is a San Diego native, but left home as a teen and had been in Europe for more than a decade, until last month.)
Remember him? The former Crystal Palace (and, briefly, Manchester United) winger comes to MLS on loan from Galatasaray in Turkey. He’s not the frighteningly fast terrorizer of fullbacks that he once was, but at 32 years old, he has plenty left in his tank.
You surely remember Choupo-Moting — from Schalke, and more recently PSG and Bayern Munich. He’s rarely been the guy at a big club. He will be in New York (er, New Jersey), where Emil Forsberg will be his main supplier.
Austin spent over $20 million to overhaul its attack. You’ll recognize Vasquez, who balled at FC Cincinnati, earned a transfer to Liga MX giant Monterrey, started fast but then lost his place, and has now returned to MLS. You probably don’t recognize Uzuni, but perhaps you soon will; at age 29, he’s a curious signing, but he’d been shredding the Spanish second division.
Portland’s Evander replacement arrives from Lens in France for around $5 million.
The 21-year-old Uruguayan midfielder will immediately step into a pivotal role after a $5 million move from Nacional.
Across town, Jesus, a 21-year-old Brazilian, will fill a similar role for LAFC.
These two will attempt to replace Diego Gómez (and, to a lesser extent, Matías Rojas). Allende, signed on loan from Celta Vigo in Spain, is the more proven commodity, but Segovia, a 21-year-old Venezuelan international, is the more exciting prospect.
The other story of the offseason was coaching changes. There were 12 in total, and a few notable ones:
Bruce Arena, San Jose Earthquakes — After a bizarre saga ousted him in New England, the dean of American soccer coaches returns to the league he won five times … and joins MLS’ cheapest club. He takes over the league’s worst team. Can he do what he did with the Revs, and quickly turn the Quakes into a contender?
Gregg Berhalter, Chicago Fire — Berhalter, after a weirdly polarizing, scandal-interrupted five years at the helm of the USMNT, took the Fire job in part so he could stay in Chicago — where he moved in 2018 to take the U.S. job, where his kids are in school and where his family had grown comfortable. In that sense, it’s a great opportunity. In a soccer sense? Well, the Fire have been an MLS laughingstock the past few years. So, similar to Arena’s project in San Jose, it’s an opportunity to transform a poorly run organization into a respectable one. (Both Berhalter and Arena are serving as head coach and sporting director at their respective clubs.)
Javier Mascherano, Inter Miami — If not for his relationship with Messi, he’d be pretty darn unqualified for the Miami job. But, as Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas said in November, “I want Leo to feel comfortable with the new coach who is coming in.” Mas asked Messi for “input.” One of the two — or was it Raúl Sanllehí, the since-ousted president of football? — chose Mascherano, whose only previous coaching experience was with Argentina youth teams. How it will work out is anybody’s guess.
Elsewhere, Atlanta lured Deila back from Europe. Toronto picked Robin Fraser, a highly respected MLS coach, to replace the disgraced John Herdman. St. Louis hired former Aston Villa stalwart Olof Mellberg; and the former coach that St. Louis probably shouldn’t have fired, Bradley Carnell, popped up in Philadelphia (to replace another coach who probably shouldn’t have been fired, Jim Curtin).
Coaches aren’t always the changemakers that fans think they’ll be, but, with so much turnover, a dozen clubs will at least look different.
So, how will it all shake out? Some dart-at-the-wall predictions:
MLS Cup: Inter Miami over Seattle Sounders
Supporters’ Shield winner: FC Cincinnati
Eastern Conference regular season winner: FC Cincinnati
Western Conference regular season winner: LAFC
MVP: Lionel Messi
Golden Boot: Messi
Newcomer of the Year: Does Almirón count? If not, his teammate, Emmanuel Latte Lath, is a good bet.
Young Player of the Year: Obed Vargas
How will MLS teams do in the Club World Cup? Neither Miami nor Seattle will make it past the group stage.
How will MLS teams do in the CONCACAF Champions Cup? Better than last year, and LAFC will make the final, but Club América will win it.
The 7 MLS teams to care about in 2025
What’s new in MLS in 2025?
Who’s new in MLS in 2025?
Old coaches, new projects
Predictions
Inter Miami
LA Galaxy
LAFC
Columbus Crew
FC Cincinnati
Atlanta United
Seattle Sounders
Lucho Acosta, FC Cincinnati to FC Dallas
Evander, Portland Timbers to FC Cincinnati
Dejan Joveljić, LA Galaxy to Sporting Kansas City
Emmanuel Latte Lath, Atlanta United
Miguel Almirón, Atlanta United
Kévin Denkey, FC Cincinnati
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, San Diego FC
Luca de la Torre, San Diego FC
Wilfried Zaha, Charlotte FC
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, New York Red Bulls
Brandon Vasquez and Myrto Uzuni, Austin FC
David da Costa, Portland Timbers
Lucas Sanabria, LA Galaxy
Igor Jesus, LAFC
Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia, Inter Miami
MLS preview: What to expect from Lionel Messi, plus other key storylines to watch
MLS preview: What to expect from Lionel Messi, plus other key storylines to watch
Major League Soccer is back.
The regular season kicks off Saturday, as Los Angeles FC hosts Minnesota United FC. Then, that evening, all eyes will be on Lionel Messi’s return when Inter Miami takes on New York City FC at 7:30 p.m. ET.
How will Messi and Inter Miami fare this season? What about new expansion team San Diego FC? MLS Season Pass analysts Taylor Twellman and Bradley Wright-Phillips spoke with NBC News about those topics and more ahead of this weekend’s kickoff.
Editor’s note: The following interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Twellman: It’s crazy to think I’ve been in and around this league since 2002. For the beginning 10 years of this league, it was all about surviving. And I would say for the last 12 to 15 years, it’s about thriving. If you would have asked me in 2005 or 2010 when MLS was thinking of expansion and really building these gorgeous stadiums, the owners would have said, “We need to find our way to get into two markets: St. Louis and San Diego.” And I think it’s only fitting that San Diego is the 30th team in the 30th year of the league.
Wright-Phillips: For me, it’s the new signings, first of all. I always look at who’s coming to the league, and straightaway, one of my favorite players to watch in the Premier League ever was Wilfried Zaha. I feel like it’s been a little bit quiet, but (joining Charlotte FC) is really good for the league and for himself. He’s one of those players that runs at defenders all game long. He looks like he’s going to be very fun to watch.
Also coaching changes. You’ve got Gregg Berhalter back in the league and Bruce Arena. They’ve both taken over clubs that — I’ll be honest — have been sorry. For the last few years you don’t think about Chicago. You don’t think about San Jose. And now they got two new managers that have done very well in this league.
Wright-Phillips: I love that the league has added another team. It’s more excitement. They add Chucky Lozano, a big name, a huge Mexican player. I’m up in the air with what they’re going to do. They don’t have an excuse of being an expansion team. St. Louis just recently won the West, so there’s no excuse for them. But there’s some exciting players that joined the roster, and I think Chucky Lozano leads that.
Twellman: San Diego is one of those markets that’s always been in the top 10 of viewership of the U.S. men’s and women’s national team. Locally, they live and die and breathe the sport of soccer. So it’s just one of those few cities in the United States where soccer is kind of in the fabric of the city. It’s kind of in the heartbeat. I think it’s great that San Diego is in the league.
Twellman: They’re not at the Premier League level, and nor should they be. English football has over a 100-year history. Naturally, when you’re trying to establish yourself in credibility, you got to do so in the world market. And I would say over the last five to seven years, Major League Soccer has exponentially grown.
The way I judge that is, when you talk to scouts around the world, how quickly are they getting to the United States and Canada and Major League Soccer? They’re getting there very quickly. I think Cavan Sullivan is a great example of that with Manchester City deeming him the best 14-year-old in the world. He’s now playing for Philadelphia Union before he goes to Man City.
Wright-Phillips: I love and hate this question because it’s so hard. My personal opinion, just having played in both (the MLS and English Premier League) … let’s take the top teams like Inter Miami and Columbus Crew, the teams that have been very dominant over the last year or so. They would have no problems in the Championship, maybe bottom of the Prem. That’s how I see it and how I like to see it. It’s so difficult to judge.
Wright-Phillips: We weren’t sure how he would react to being in the MLS, but he’s taken it by storm. He’s the Messi we’ve known and loved over the years.
What I do know is that, especially in America, Inter Miami won’t be seen as a successful side until they win the MLS Cup. So Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets — I think that’ll be the No. 1 thing on their list. Until they win that, I don’t think people will say it’s been a huge success. But saying that, they’ve been a joy to watch.
Twellman: He had 36 goal contributions in 19 games last year. If not for a horrific ankle injury from a slide tackle in Copa America, he would have played probably 25 or 26 games, and he could easily have had 45 goal contributions.
If he’s healthy this year and he plays 25 games, I think he could be the first repeat winner of the MLS MVP ever because the way he changes Luis Suárez, the way he changes everyone around him. I’m nervous for Miami because I don’t think they’re as deep as they were last year. They’ve got to figure that out.
Wright-Phillips: You’ll always enjoy watching Darlington Nagbe. I think a young striker like Patrick Agyemang for Charlotte is very exciting and upcoming. Jack McGlynn just went to the Houston Dynamo. This will be good for him, starting every week. Talking about young players starting every week, I’m thinking of Brian Gutiérrez for Chicago under Gregg Berhalter.
Twellman: On LAFC, Denis Bouanga is one of the best players this league has ever seen. You do not have to be a soccer fan to see his impact and to see how he plays. He plays at a high level, 90 minutes of just relentless pursuit of goals and assists. He’s had 20-plus goals in two straight years. An unreal player.
Twellman: The FIFA Club World Cup being in this country, two MLS teams being a part of that, all the eyeballs around the world are going to be on the United States in 2025. It’s a perfect preview of what the World Cup is going to be in 2026.
Major League Soccer now has the infrastructure, the momentum to really catapult itself with all the eyeballs in the world in 2025 and then ultimately in the World Cup. That’s where it’s going to be different than 1994.
Wright-Phillips: I don’t think the casual MLS fan realizes how good of a player Wilfried Zaha is. I was surprised that there isn’t a lot more noise around his name for how good he is as a player. We got to remember, this guy was tearing it up at Crystal Palace in the Premiership. It didn’t work out for one reason or another, but this is the kind of talent we’re talking about that’s coming to the league. And I think very soon after Matchday 1, we’re going to see a top player and you’ll hear his name a lot throughout the season.
Wright-Phillips: I’m going to go with Chicago. [Gregg Berhalter] has all the pieces. He has a good young No. 10 in Brian Gutiérrez and then they brought in a really good winger in Jonathan Bamba. He’s another player that loves to run at defenders. And then if you were worried about their defense, they bring in Jack Elliott from the Philadelphia Union, who I think is a really underrated center back in the league.
Twellman: I’m interested to watch Austin this year. They went out and spent $10 million on Brandon Vázquez. He comes back from Mexico and is a goal scorer. There’s a new manager (in Nico Estévez). I don’t know if the manager gets them to winning the MLS Cup, but I think he improves Austin to a point that the fan base is now rejuvenated the way they were in the first couple years of their existence.
Twellman: The transfer window changes everything in the summer. The teams you see on Feb. 22 are not the teams you see come MLS Cup playoffs. A lot can change. But as of Feb. 20, I think people are really overlooking Atlanta United and Cincinnati. They had the best transfer windows.
Wright-Phillips: You have to look at Cincinnati. Over the years, Cincinnati has always been a team that doesn’t concede many goals. … Now you add Evander, one of my favorite players. You’re putting him on a side that is defensively sound. He has a striker in front of him now in Kévin Denkey who is very efficient in front of the goal. When you talk about attacking talent, adding Evander, and you talk about how good they are defensively, that’s a team that’s built for the playoffs.
Greg Rosenstein is the sports editor for NBC News Digital.
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