MLS went from strength to strength in the 2010s, the USA's ever-expanding top league continuing to grow with the addition of more new clubs.
And it was helped along by some top talent, from homegrown heroes to international superstars making the switch to the States.
Here, FourFourTwo counts down the best MLS players of that decade...
34. Andrea Pirlo (New York City)
He might have made the move to New York City to wind down in his final two-and-a-half seasons before retirement, but iconic, metronomic Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo remained a joy to watch across the Atlantic.
Pirlo made 60 MLS appearances for New York in all, hanging up his boots at the end of the 2017 campaign.
33. Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy)
Another of the finest midfielders of his era, Steven Gerrard ended his 26-year association with boyhood club Liverpool when he joined the LA Galaxy ahead of the 2015 MLS campaign.
Included in the 2015 MLS All-Star team, Gerrard became the second ex-England captain to play for the Galaxy – after David Beckham.
32. Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes, Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, LAFC)
Capped six times by Iran, Steven Beitashour was born in California and spent his entire career in the USA, starting out with hometown club San Jose Earthquakes – where he won the 2012 MLS Supporters’ Shield (the trophy given to the team with the best regular season record).
The right-back eventually got his hands on the MLS Cup (the outright title) with Toronto FC in 2017.
31. Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union)
Born in New Jersey, Alejandro Bedoya had spells in Sweden, Scotland and France before playing in his homeland for the first time – after joining the Philadelphia Union from Nantes in 2016.
Made club captain in 2017, the 66-cap USA midfielder made 103 MLS appearances for the Union between his arrival and the end of the 2010s.
30. Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United)
Nicknamed ‘Honey Badger’ for his aggressive style of midfield play, Osvaldo joined the Seattle Sounders in 2009 and racked up 278 MLS appearances over the course of a nine-year stay with the club.
A 2016 MLS Cup winner, the Cuban international was voted an MLS All-Star in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
29. Cyle Larin (Orlando City)
An impressive three seasons for Orlando City earned Canada forward Cyle Larin a big move to Europe with Turkish giants Besiktas in 2018.
Named 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year, Larin – who was selected first overall in the 2015 SuperDraft – scored 43 goals in 87 league outings for Orlando.
28. Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago Fire)
Signed from Poland’s Legia Warsaw ahead of the 2017 season, Nemanja Nikolic notched 24 goals in 34 games during his first campaign at Chicago Fire.
That saw the Hungary striker scoop the Golden Boot and earn a spot in the MLS Best XI – as well as a nomination for MVP.
27. Ignacio Piatti
An MLS All-Star three years running between 2016 and 2018, Argentine winger Ignacio Piatti has to go down as one of the greatest players in the short history of CF Montreal (Montreal Impact until 2021).
Versatile enough to be deployed in all manner of attacking roles, Piatti found the net 66 times in 135 MLS outings for the Canadian side.
26. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC, Seattle Sounders)
Swiss-born goalkeeper Stefan Frei moved to the USA as a 15-year-old and made his MLS debut, for Toronto FC, shortly before his 23rd birthday.
Frei would go on to rack up more than 250 appearances in the competition throughout the 2010s – most of them for the Seattle Sounders, where he was a title winner in 2016 and 2019.
25. Mike Magee (LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire)
Generally a steady goalscorer rather than a prolific one, Mike Magee found the net 21 times during the 2013 MLS season – midway through which the LA Galaxy traded him to his hometown club, Chicago Fire.
Those exploits in front of goal saw Magee secure the 2013 MVP award. He returned to the Galaxy in 2016, seeing out his career there.
24. Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps, FC Cincinnati)
One of the best centre-backs in MLS history, Costa Rica regular Kendall Waston was voted the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Player of the Year in 2015 and 2017, making the MLS Best XI in both of those years.
A colossal presence at six-foot-five tall, Waston reached the playoffs three times with the Whitecaps before joining FC Cincinnati for their inaugural MLS campaign of 2019.
23. Frank Lampard (New York City)
One of the biggest superstars ever to feature in MLS, Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard wound down his playing days with an 18-month spell at New York City.
Lampard averaged better than a goal every other game for New York, bagging 15 goals in 29 MLS outings. He also appeared in the 2015 All-Star Game alongside Steven Gerrard.
22. Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Named 2019 MVP after a prolific 34-goal season, Carlos Vela averaged 0.8 goals per game across his first two campaigns with LAFC – who he joined for their 2018 MLS debut.
Once of Arsenal and West Brom, the Mexican international’s hatful of goals in 2019 fired LAFC to the Supporters’ Shield.
21. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy, Toronto FC)
A three-time MLS Cup winner with the LA Galaxy between 2011 and 2014, towering centre-half Omar Gonzalez made the league’s Best XI in four of the first five years of the 2010s.
Capped 52 times by the USA – who he represented at the 2014 World Cup – Gonzalez is an all-time MLS defensive great.
20. Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City)
A six-time MLS All-Star, including in each of the first four years of the 2010s, Brad Davis is one of the Houston Dynamo’s greatest ever players.
Hugely creative from the middle of the park – Davis’ 123 assists are among the most in MLS history – the 17-cap USA international finished was a finalist for the 2011 MVP.
19. Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)
Versatile central defender Matt Besler spent the entirety of the 2010s with hometown club Sporting Kansas City, helping them to MLS Cup glory in 2013.
Captain from 2014 until his departure in 2020, Besler – who won 47 caps for the USA – was named 2012 MLS Defender of the Year and made the All-Star team on four occasions.
18. Federico Higuain (Columbus Crew, D.C. United)
MLS Newcomer of the Year in 2012, adaptable forward Federico Higuain became Columbus Crew’s record signing when he arrived from Argentine outfit Colón.
A 2015 Eastern Conference title winner, Higuain notched 55 goals in 193 MLS games during a seven-year stay with Columbus, leaving for D.C. United at the end of the 2019 season.
17. Nicolas Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders)
A two-time Eredivisie champion at Ajax early in the 2010s, Nicolas Lodeiro ended the decade with the Seattle Sounders, having moved from Boca Juniors in 2016.
And the 60-cap Uruguay attacking midfielder had an instant impact in the States, claiming MLS Newcomer of the Year as he captained the Sounders to their first of two league titles in the space of four years.
16. Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution, Sporting Kansas City, LAFC, Colorado Rapids)
Born in Brazil, Benny Feilhaber grew up in the USA and ended up representing the country at international level – in addition to enjoying a memorable MLS career.
The highlight for the 2015 All-Star midfielder was winning the 2013 MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City – for whom he made 150 league appearances during a five-year spell.
15. Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
D.C. United great Bill Hamid made his senior debut in 2010 at the age of just 19, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to win a game in MLS history.
By the end of the decade, Hamid – a member of the USA’s 2013 and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning squads – had chalked up over 200 appearances for United (either side of a brief stint with Midtjylland of Denmark), where he won MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014.
14. Matt Hedges (FC Dallas)
A highly consistent centre-half, Matt Hedges was voted MLS Defender of the Year in 2016 – when he also helped FC Dallas to the Supporters’ Shield.
Dallas skipper from 2014, Hedges – a 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner with the USA – set a new all-time appearance record for the Texas club in 2020.
13. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
In 2015, the MLS’ MVP Award was renamed the Landon Donovan MVP Award – which tells you all you need to know about the greatest American footballer of all time.
Debuting for the LA Galaxy in 2005, Donovan – who earned a whopping 157 caps for the USA – remained with the club for nine years, captaining them to MLS Cup victory in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
He retired in 2014, only to make a brief comeback for the Galaxy two years later.
12. Josef Martinez (Atlanta United)
Following spells in Europe with Young Boys and Torino, Venezuela striker Josef Martinez returned to the Americas in 2017, joining Atlanta United in an initial loan deal.
Martinez’s record of five MLS goals in just three appearances during that loan spell was a sign of things to come: he struck 77 times during his first three seasons with Atlanta, firing them to the 2018 MLS Cup and winning MVP in the process.
11. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
A clean sheet machine, Nick Rimando is right up there with the best goalkeepers ever to grace MLS – where he made it into six All-Star teams and won Save of the Year three times throughout the 2010s.
On the short side for a ‘keeper at five-foot-nine, Rimando joined Real Salt Lake in 2007 and went on to amass 369 MLS appearances for the club, hanging up his gloves in 2019 aged 40.
10. Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution, LAFC)
Nominated for MVP in 2014, Lee Nguyen was among MLS’ standout midfielders of the 2010s, making the switch from Vietnamese football in December 2011 and starring for the New England Revolution and LAFC.
A nine-time USA international, Nguyen helped New England to the 2014 MLS Cup final and LA to the 2019 Supporters’ Shield.
9. Kei Kamara (Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Vancouver Whitecaps, Colorado Rapids)
One of the all-time top scorers in MLS, Kei Kamara found the net steadily for numerous clubs during the 2010s.
The ex-Sierra Leone international’s best spell came in the colours of Columbus Crew, where he bagged 27 goals in 41 league outings, winning the 2015 Eastern Conference title and making that season’s MLS Best XI.
8. Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC)
A 2012/13 and 2013/14 Serie A champion with Juventus, diminutive Italy forward Sebastian Giovinco sprung something of a surprise by departing for Toronto FC in January 2015.
Approaching his 28th birthday at the time, Giovinco was still in his prime – and he looked a class apart in MLS, picking up MVP in his first season, when he scored 22 of his total 68 goals in the league.
Two years later, he starred as Toronto lifted their maiden MLS Cup.
7. Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)
Argentine attacking midfielder Diego Valeri spent his whole MLS career with Portland Timbers, ensuring legendary status by scoring 86 goals in 262 appearances between 2013 and 2021.
MLS’ leading assist provider in 2013, Valeri helped the Timbers to the title in 2015 – before claiming the ultimate individual accolade of MVP another two years later.
6. Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls)
Following stints with Manchester City, Southampton, Plymouth, Charlton and Brentford, Bradley Wright-Phillips headed Stateside – and that’s where he played for the remainder of his career.
For most of his nine years across the pond, the striker was an Englishman in New York, becoming the Red Bulls’ all-time leading goalscorer (he notched 108 goals in 195 MLS appearances), winning two Golden Boots, three Supporters’ Shields and earning a 2016 MVP nomination.
5. Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
MLS’ all-time leading goalscorer, Chris Wondolowski was in his prime with the San Jose Earthquakes, returning for his second spell in 2009 and spending the remaining 12 years of his career there.
In the 2010s alone, the 35-cap USA frontman bagged 152 goals at an average of just over 15 per season, winning the Golden Boot in 2010 and 2012, and the Supporters’ Shield and MVP in the latter.
4. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
Simply one of the greatest players of all time, World Cup, Champions League and Premier League winner Thierry Henry graced MLS with his presence from 2010 to 2014, notching 51 goals in 122 appearances for the New York Red Bulls.
An MLS All-Star in four of his five seasons with the Red Bulls, the silky-smooth Frenchman helped the club to two Eastern Conference titles and the 2013 Supporters’ Shield – receiving an MVP nomination that same year.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy)
As debuts go, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s for the LA Galaxy wasn’t too shabby: the enigmatic Swedish icon came off the bench to bag a match-winning brace – a 45-yard half-volley and a 91st-minute headed winner – as his new team fought back to beat local rivals LAFC 4-3 in the first ever El Trafico derby.
That set the tone for Zlatan’s brief but utterly prolific MLS career: he scored 52 goals in 56 games. To be fair, he never was one to do things by half measures.
2. David Villa (New York City)
A key member of Spain’s Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup-winning sides, David Villa swapped La Liga for MLS ahead of the 2015 season – and he wasted no time in ensuring he would go down as one of the best ever to play in the States.
Voted league MVP in 2016 – and New York City’s MVP in 2015, 2016 and 2017 – Villa chalked up 77 goals in 117 MLS matches.
1. Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)
Signed in 2011 after leaving Tottenham, the cartwheeling frontman’s goals helped fire the Galaxy to three MLS Cup triumphs in the space of four years – while he was named MVP in 2014.
Undoubtedly one of the Republic of Ireland’s greatest players of all time, Robbie Keane is similarly revered by fans of the LA Galaxy – where he wore the captain's armband and enjoyed a trophy-laden five-and-a-half seasons at the back end of his career.
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