10 Best South American Players in MLS History (Ranked)

Argentinians, Brazilians, Colombians, Venezuelans… Since 1996, when the very first MLS season kicked off, a host of South American players have graced the pitch. Nearly 1,000 to be precise. Some of them have left their mark on the history of the North American league, and even, more broadly, on football in general.

But if one thing is certain about them, it’s that they have each, in their own way, helped to change the way the public perceives soccer. And although they didn’t all evolve in the same era, the impact of the best of them has spanned them all.

That’s why GIVEMESPORT has decided to pay tribute to 10 players, considered among the greatest, whose mark has been, is and will forever remain engraved in the annals of MLS.

Ranking factors:

• Pedigree before joining MLS
• MLS achievements (games played, goals, trophies…)
• Influence

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*MLS Cup playoffs games aren’t recorded in the “MLS Matches Played” column.

10 Gonzalo Higuain

Inter Miami

Gonzalo Higuain, renowned for his unparalleled goalscoring ability, joined MLS side Inter Miami in 2020 for what was the final adventure of his football career. It was a two-year stint that ended much better than it began, with the Argentinian playing a key role in his team’s playoff run.

The Argentinian played a key role with Miami, accumulating 40 goal contributions (29 goals, 11 assists) in 67 league games, and topped off his North American adventure with the Comeback of the Year award, given to a player who has overcome adversity to return to the top of his sport. A well-deserved accolade after the difficult year of 2021 that the former Real Madrid player had to face.

9 Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez

LA Galaxy

It was as Mexico’s all-time top scorer (109 caps, 52 goals), and after impressive spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, that Javier Hernandez arrived at LA Galaxy in January 2020.

He would spend four seasons with the club, playing 83 games and scoring 39 goals — and providing seven assists — and, above all, establishing himself as one of the team’s leaders, both on and off the pitch. However, it was an adventure that left a bitter taste in his mouth, as his final year was marked by a cruciate knee ligament rupture that prevented him from retiring on a high note.

8 Carlos Vela

LAFC

Before becoming one of the stars of the MLS, Carlos Vela spent years shining in Europe. This was particularly true in the colors of Real Sociedad, where he played some 250 games and is still one of their all-time top scorers. In 2018, after seven seasons on the Basque coast, the Mexican joined LAFC, where he quickly established himself as an indispensable player.

The record holder for the most goals scored in an MLS season (34 in 31 games in 2019), he was one of the key architects of the MLS Cup — Supporters’ Shield double, the first titles in the history of his franchise, in 2022. Another star in Hollywood.

7 David Ferreira

FC Dallas

After arriving at FC Dallas from Atlético Paranaense in 2009, David Ferreira quickly made Texas his second home. In the space of five seasons in MLS, the Colombian has established himself as one of the game’s dependable performers, playing 30 games (out of a possible 30) in three different seasons and being crowned MVP in 2010.

A memorable spell for a player who made 113 league appearances and was decisive on 63 occasions (24 goals, 39 assists). And as if to perpetuate the family legacy, it is now the turn of his son, Jesus, to represent the Ferreira name with the Frisco Kids.

6 Josef Martinez

Atlanta United, Inter Miami, CF Montreal

Josef Martinez’s career proves that Europe is not always the promised land of world football. After struggling to establish himself there, it was in MLS that the Venezuelan striker really had the opportunity to showcase his talent. His six seasons with Atlanta United are proof of that.

Having become the club’s all-time top scorer (111 goals in 158 games), he experienced it all there, including a cascade of individual (MLS MVP, Golden Boot) and team (MLS Cup) awards in 2018. And although his adventure in Georgia unfortunately ended on a sour note, the striker has continued on his way, with spells at Inter Miami and CF Montreal, where he now plays.

5 Kaka

Orlando City SC

No matter how old you are or where you’re from, you’re bound to remember an image of Kaka in the colors of Orlando City SC. The legendary Brazilian’s time in MLS is not just about his sporting achievements, of which there are many, but also about the mark he has left on the collective imagination.

With his footballing skills and experience at the highest level, the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner has helped inject a new professionalism into North American soccer. A player whose humility is matched only by his talent, loved by all and who, let’s face it, will forever be recognized as one of the greatest players of all-time.

4 Carlos Valderrama

Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion, Colorado Rapids

Considered by many to be the best Colombian player of all time, Carlos ‘Pibe’ Valderrama has witnessed the birth of MLS and helped it grow. Named MVP of the inaugural season, in which he played for Supporters’ Shield winners Tampa Bay Mutiny, the playmaker also shone under the colors of the Miami Fusion and Colorado Rapids.

At the time of writing, he remains the player with the best assists/game played ratio (0.65) of the best passers in league history. No player has yet surpassed his record of 26 assists in a single season. A mark that may well never be surpassed.

3 Lionel Messi

Inter Miami

While the likes of David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Andrea Pirlo have played a vital role in raising the profile of MLS, none of them can match the impact of Lionel Messi’s arrival on American soil. And that’s for the simple reason that the Argentinian is undoubtedly the best player of all time to have set foot on the pitch.

It is a reputation that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has quickly justified, leading young club Inter Miami to the first titles in their history thanks to his exceptional ability to be decisive in key moments. At 37, the 2022 World Champion still has energy to spare.

2 Jaime Moreno

D.C. United, NY/NJ MetroStars

No player in history has spent more time on an MLS pitch than Jaime Moreno. In the 15 years between 1996 and 2010, the Bolivian striker established himself as one of the true legends of a league in which he made a total of 340 appearances, 329 of them for DC United — a club for which he is both the player with the most appearances (404) and the all-time top scorer (155 goals).

The fifth-highest scorer in league history (133 goals), the player with 75 international caps (nine goals) also boasts an exceptional list of honors, including four MLS Cups, as many Supporters’ Shield awards and a nomination for the MLS All-Time Best XI. And that’s just the beginning.

1 Marco Etcheverry

D.C. United

D.C. United can boast of having welcomed two of the greatest South American players in MLS history at the same time. If Moreno embraced such success in the US capital, he owes it in part to his team-mate and compatriot Marco Etcheverry. A three-time MLS Cup winner, the Bolivian midfielder also shone in the colors of the Men in Black.

191 regular season games, 34 goals, 101 assists: the 1998 MVP was none other than a genius of the round ball. A player of continental influence, his nickname of ‘Diablo’ was taken up by the young Argentinian prodigy Claudio ‘Diablito’ Echeverri.

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