Top 10 Wingers in MLS History (Ranked)

Wingers perhaps have the most fun on the soccer pitch and there’s no doubt the world’s game is beautiful because of their versatile skills, expansive mindsets and electric performances that constantly raise the bar.

MLS is known as being more physical than its international counterparts, and the role of winger has evolved accordingly in the 29-year history of the relatively young league.

The 2010’s saw many teams opt for a 4-3-3 formation over the traditional 4-2-2, which led to the winger becoming responsible for not just goal chance creation, but also being a direct threat on goal. They’ve also had to assist defensively, but for the sake of simplicity, looking at their goal contributions per match is suitable. Below is a look at some of the greatest to grace the world of MLS and ensure their place in the history of the clubs they dedicated themselves to.

10 Chris Armas

68 goal contributions in 301 appearances

Chris Armas has a storied career in soccer, playing and coaching, dating back to the league’s inaugural season in 1996 when he began with Los Angeles Galaxy, playing with their current coach Greg Vanney and another legend on this list Cobi Jones, helping the Galaxy top the Western Conference and finish as runners-up to the inaugural MLS Cup against D.C. United.

At Chicago Fire FC, he instantly burst into flames, helping them win the MLS Cup in his first season. In his 10 seasons at the Fire, Armas was named to the MLS Best XI each year from 1998 to 2001, before being sidelined in 2022 with an ACL injury. He was named an MLS All-Star six times and won the U.S. Open Cup four times across his term with the Fire, finishing with eight goals and 42 assists.

9 Alan Velasco

27 goal contributions in 65 appearances

FC Dallas

star Alan Velasco topped the MLS 22 Under-22 list after a sensational 2023 season in which he scored four goals and had four assists in 28 regular season games. But his season ended with an ACL tear in the first round match of the MLS Cup Playoffs. He returned in September 2024 and, scored two goals and contributed two assists in the nine matches he played before the end of their season.

In his first season, the Argentinian made an immediate impression, scoring six goals and seven assists in 26 matches. The prodigious winger from Independiente was brought to Dallas for moments, and in one of his most definitive moments, Velasco, still just 20-years-old and still in his first year in MLS, chipped his decisive penalty kick against Minnesota United, into the net and into the Western Conference Semifinal.

Dallas recently rejected a bid from Boca Juniors for their burgeoning star, so his time in MLS continues on to possibly his best year yet.

8 Sébastien Le Toux

125 goal contributions in 271 appearances

Most associated with the Philadelphia Union, despite having played for six clubs across his MLS career, Sébastien Le Toux, is an icon in the City of Brotherly Love. He joined their club in the MLS Expansion Draft in 2009, and quickly rose to become their first MLS All-Star, win their individual Fair Play award, and still holds the club record for goals, assists, shots, shots on goal, corner kicks, game-winning goals, game-winning assists and corner kicks across his six seasons with the club.

The Frenchman scored a hat trick in the Union’s first home match, he notched the first ever goal in the club’s stadium, he has the first playoff goal in club history, and was the first inductee into the Union Ring of Honor. Le Toux, who eventually retired from his playing career in 2017 and settled down in Philadelphia, is also a member of the 50-50 club in MLS.

7 Jordan Morris

107 goal contributions in 218 appearances

His name is synonymous with MLS. When the young prodigy Jordan Morris chose to leave Stanford University ahead of his senior year, balk at options in Europe, and play for his first and only club, the Seattle Sounders, he made history and the reverberations of his decision rang across the league.

If the Sounders were a movie, Morris would be their leading man, achieving the brunt of their most-decorated accomplishments with them. The 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year grew up with the Sounders. He suffered potentially career-ending injuries (missing nearly two full seasons) but lifted two MLS Cups (2016, 2019), and what was once seen as impossible, winning the CONCACAF Champions League (2022). Part of what makes the Seattle Sounders contenders for the Cup year after year is Morris, a player who has become a part of the DNA of the club.

The numbers underscore his trophy collection. In 218 matches (both regular season and playoffs), Morris has tallied 74 goals and 33 assists. He’s still leading the way for his team. He led the Sounders in scoring (regular season), also having the most shots on target. This season was the highest scoring season of his professional career with 13 strikes, and tied his 2020 record of 18 goal contributions. Accuracy hasn’t diminished for the 30-year-old either. He held the highest shooting-accuracy of anyone on the roster too, at 47.8 percent.

6 Cobi Jones

180 goal contributions in 351 appearances

It’s impossible to imagine a list of goal contributors in MLS lore without including former USMNT member and LA Galaxy legend, Cobi Jones. The Hall of Famer played for the LA Galaxy from 1996 to 2007, including the teams that won the MLS title in 2002 and 2005, and the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005. He was named to the MLS post-season Best XI in 1998, and played a total of 351 MLS games, scoring 76 goals and assisting in 104 more.

The 12-year starter for LA Galaxy helped the club win the Supporters Shield twice (1998, 2002), the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2000, is a member of the MLS 50/50 club and is a five-time MLS All-Star. His mark on the league as an MLS original and on LA Galaxy’s history is indelible.

5 Ryan Gauld

82 goal contributions in 114 appearances

While this is being written, Ryan Gauld is playing perhaps the best soccer of his life and the

Vancouver Whitecaps

are looking to upset the number one Western Conference seed, LAFC, along with their star Denís Bouanga. The Scottish attacking midfielder enjoyed his breakout season in 2023, his second full season with the ‘Caps, becoming the club’s all-time leader in assists across all competitions and all-time leader in MLS assists.

In the 2023 MLS regular season, Gauld was exceptional across the league in multiple categories including big chances created (18 – third place), expected assists (8.93 – fifth place), chances created (78 – sixth place), expected goals (12.29 – ninth place), and tackles (64 – 19th place).

4 Denís Bouanga

66 goal contributions in 80 appearances

The MLS Golden Boot winner of 2023 has brought a passion and flare to the modern-day winger in his short time at LAFC that began in 2022 when he first signed with the Black and Gold. His unique style brought defenses to their knees in 2023 as he scored 20 regular-season goals, becoming their second player to win the prestigious award.

Bouanga’s goal scoring prowess continued in every competition he played that year, finishing as the top scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League and leading all MLS players with 38 total goals scored in all competitions. His 2023 concluded with a total of 51 goal contributions in 48 games played.

The next full season brought with it more challenges for the Frenchman, as his game evolved to include more of a creative role. Bouanga rose to the occasion, assisting on 11 goals while scoring 21 of his own while LAFC’s journey to win a second trophy in 2024 to join their U.S. Open Cup championship continues.

3 Landon Donovan

321 goal contributions in 384 appearances

A history-maker in MLS, Landon Donovan is one of the league’s and the nation’s best across the books. Donovan played 15 seasons in MLS between 2001 and 2016, his first four with the San Jose Earthquakes and the final 11 with LA Galaxy. When he retired in 2016, Donovan was the all-time MLS goal-scoring leader, reaching 170 goals and 151 assists across 384 matches (regular and postseason).

Donovan won the MLS championship six times, first with San Jose (2001, 2003), and next with LA Galaxy (2005, 2011, 2012, 2014). He was named to the MLS postseason Best XI seven times, and won the MLS MVP award in 2009, which was renamed the Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award in the modern era to honor his contributions to the league.

2 Carlos Vela

145 goal contributions in 165 appearances

The first Designated Player for LAFC, Carlos Vela became an icon in Los Angeles and beyond in his six seasons with the club, before the end of his DP contract in December 2023. He has since then returned and not received the minutes of competitive play worthy of his experience due to fitness and load concerns. However, his stamp on LAFC history has already been made.

The 2019 MLS MVP and current league record holder for most goals scored in a season (34), Vela is one of the most decorated players in league history and the club’s all-time leader in games played (152), minutes (11,194), goals (78) and assists (59). He recorded a goal or an assist in seven of LAFC’s MLS Cup Playoff matches.

The Mexican international has established his place in MLS history with record-setting plays throughout his career. A four-time MLS All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and three-time MLS Best XI selection (2018, 2019, 2022), Vela helped LAFC win the 2022 MLS Cup, the 2019 and 2022 Supporters’ Shields, and an MLS-record two appearances in the Concacaf Champions League Final (2020, 2023).

1 Lionel Messi

51 goal contributions in 38 appearances

There is no doubt the most remarkable and historically-significant addition to MLS to date is also the perhaps the best player in the history of the game, Lionel Messi. In his short time with the league, Messi has contributed more per match (per minute, really) to his team’s goals and successes than any other player.

Messi has led Inter Miami CF to the best regular seasonin MLS history with 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 appearances. In total, Messi has managed 33 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for David Beckham’s club. Partly due to his technical prowess and soccer IQ that is without peer, the South Florida club set a new record on their way to their second-ever trophy, the Supporters’ Shield, a 74-point regular season.

Along the way, he proved his unparalleled abilities, setting a league record five assists in a 6-2 win against the New York Red Bulls (and added a goal of his own for good measure). Should they also win the MLS Cup in 2024, Messi and Inter Miami will have gone from one of the worst in the league to the best of the best in a single season. Epic.

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