The MLS Best XI is the league’s way of recognising the best eleven players in each position across the whole season. The formation used has changed from time to time, but they usually use a 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3.
Any player who has taken part in the regular season can be selected, and they are ultimately chosen by a combination of votes from media members, club representatives, and players. The process has changed a little over time, but the results always represent an overall consensus of opinion rather than anything statistical.
In terms of importance, inclusion in the Best XI is a great personal achievement or personal award, but not as impressive as other individual awards like the Golden Boot, or Goalkeeper or Defender of the Year. That said, the winners of those awards are almost always included in the Best XI by definition, and clubs love bragging about it if any of their players are included.
El Mejor
Captain Hector Herrera was named to the 2023 MLS Best XI #SomosFearless pic.twitter.com/3zFCzxVLZU
— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) November 28, 2023
Although it’s not a major award, any player who is included on several occasions can probably be thought of as a bit of an MLS legend. It shows they have not just been at the top of their game, but they have done it consistently. In an ever improving league like MLS, that is hard to do, especially for players who have always played here. The standard is improving with every season and with every star name that joins, so domestic players have to continually up their game.
In simple terms, an MLS Best XI selection carries weight even if it is not considered a major individual award, and it can definitely tell a story.
List Of Best XI for Every Season of Major League Soccer
Here it is, season by season. A complete list of every Best XI in the history of Major League Soccer.
I have also included the team the player belonged to at the time they were selected, and you will see that some teams are very prominent while other barely feature at all.
| Season | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Mark Dodd / Dallas | Leonel Álvarez / Dallas John Doyle / San Jose Robin Fraser / LA Galaxy |
Mauricio Cienfuegos / LA Galaxy Roberto Donadoni / MetroStars Marco Etcheverry / D.C. United Preki / Kansas City Carlos Valderrama / Tampa Bay |
Eduardo Hurtado / LA Galaxy Roy Lassiter / Tampa Bay |
| 1997 | Brad Friedel / Columbus | Jeff Agoos / D.C. United Thomas Dooley / Columbus Richard Gough / Kansas City Eddie Pope / D.C. United |
Mark Chung / Kansas City Marco Etcheverry / D.C. United Preki / Kansas City Carlos Valderrama / Tampa Bay |
Ronald Cerritos / San Jose Jaime Moreno / D.C. United |
| 1998 | Zach Thornton / Chicago | Thomas Dooley / Columbus Robin Fraser / LA Galaxy Luboš Kubík / Chicago Eddie Pope / D.C. United |
Chris Armas / Chicago Mauricio Cienfuegos / LA Galaxy Marco Etcheverry / D.C. United Piotr Nowak / Chicago |
Stern John / Columbus Cobi Jones / LA Galaxy |
| 1999 | Kevin Hartman / LA Galaxy | Jeff Agoos / D.C. United Luboš Kubík / Chicago Robin Fraser / LA Galaxy |
Chris Armas / Chicago Mauricio Cienfuegos / LA Galaxy Marco Etcheverry / D.C. United Eddie Lewis / San Jose Steve Ralston / Tampa Bay |
Jason Kreis / Dallas Jaime Moreno / D.C. United |
| 2000 | Tony Meola / Kansas City | Robin Fraser / LA Galaxy Greg Vanney / LA Galaxy Peter Vermes / Kansas City |
Chris Armas / Chicago Piotr Nowak / Chicago Steve Ralston / Tampa Bay Hristo Stoichkov / Chicago Carlos Valderrama / Tampa Bay |
Mamadou Diallo / Tampa Bay Clint Mathis / MetroStars |
| 2001 | Tim Howard / MetroStars | Jeff Agoos / San Jose Carlos Llamosa / Miami Pablo Mastroeni / Miami Greg Vanney / LA Galaxy |
Chris Armas / Chicago Piotr Nowak / Chicago Preki / Miami |
Alex Pineda Chacón / Miami Diego Serna / Miami John Spencer / Colorado |
| 2002 | Tim Howard / MetroStars | Wade Barrett / San Jose Carlos Bocanegra / Chicago Alexi Lalas / LA Galaxy |
Mark Chung / Colorado Ronnie Ekelund / San Jose Óscar Pareja / Dallas Steve Ralston / New England |
Jeff Cunningham / Columbus Carlos Ruiz / LA Galaxy Taylor Twellman / New England |
| 2003 | Pat Onstad / San Jose | Carlos Bocanegra / Chicago Ryan Nelsen / D.C. United Eddie Pope / MetroStars |
Chris Armas / Chicago DaMarcus Beasley / Chicago Mark Chung / Colorado Landon Donovan / San Jose Preki / Kansas City |
Ante Razov / Chicago John Spencer / Colorado |
| 2004 | Joe Cannon / Colorado | Jimmy Conrad / Kansas City Robin Fraser / Columbus Ryan Nelsen / D.C. United Eddie Pope / MetroStars |
Eddie Gaven / MetroStars Amado Guevara / MetroStars Ronnie O’Brien / Dallas Kerry Zavagnin / Kansas City |
Brian Ching / San Jose Jaime Moreno / D.C. United |
| 2005 | Pat Onstad / San Jose | Chris Albright / LA Galaxy Danny Califf / San Jose Jimmy Conrad / Kansas City |
Clint Dempsey / New England Dwayne De Rosario / San Jose Christian Gómez / D.C. United Shalrie Joseph / New England Ronnie O’Brien / Dallas |
Jaime Moreno / D.C. United Taylor Twellman / New England |
| 2006 | Troy Perkins / D.C. United | Bobby Boswell / D.C. United José Burciaga Jr. / Kansas City Jimmy Conrad / Kansas City |
Ricardo Clark / Houston Clint Dempsey / New England Dwayne De Rosario / Houston Christian Gómez / D.C. United Justin Mapp / Chicago |
Jeff Cunningham / Salt Lake Jaime Moreno / D.C. United |
| 2007 | Brad Guzan / Chivas USA | Jonathan Bornstein / Chivas USA Michael Parkhurst / New England Eddie Robinson / Houston |
Guillermo Barros Schelotto / Columbus Dwayne De Rosario / Houston Christian Gómez / D.C. United Shalrie Joseph / New England Ben Olsen / D.C. United |
Juan Pablo Angel / Red Bulls Luciano Emílio / D.C. United |
| 2008 | Jon Busch / Chicago | Jimmy Conrad / Kansas City Chad Marshall / Columbus Bakary Soumaré / Chicago |
Cuauhtémoc Blanco / Chicago Shalrie Joseph / New England Sacha Kljestan / Chivas USA Robbie Rogers / Columbus Guillermo Barros Schelotto / Columbus |
Kenny Cooper / Dallas Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy |
| 2009 | Zach Thornton / Chivas USA | Geoff Cameron / Houston Wilman Conde / Chicago Chad Marshall / Columbus |
Dwayne De Rosario / Toronto Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy Stuart Holden / Houston Shalrie Joseph / New England Freddie Ljungberg / Seattle |
Conor Casey / Colorado Jeff Cunningham / Dallas |
| 2010 | Donovan Ricketts / LA Galaxy | Nat Borchers / Salt Lake Omar Gonzalez / LA Galaxy Jámison Olave / Salt Lake |
Dwayne De Rosario / Toronto Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy David Ferreira / Dallas Sébastien Le Toux / Philadelphia Javier Morales / Salt Lake |
Edson Buddle / LA Galaxy Chris Wondolowski / San Jose |
| 2011 | Kasey Keller / Seattle | Todd Dunivant / LA Galaxy Omar Gonzalez / LA Galaxy Jámison Olave / Salt Lake |
David Beckham / LA Galaxy Brad Davis / Houston Dwayne De Rosario / D.C. United Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy Brek Shea / Dallas |
Thierry Henry / Red Bulls Chris Wondolowski / San Jose |
| 2012 | Jimmy Nielsen / Sporting KC | Víctor Bernárdez / San Jose Matt Besler / Sporting KC Aurélien Collin / Sporting KC |
Osvaldo Alonso / Seattle Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy Chris Pontius / D.C. United Graham Zusi / Sporting KC |
Thierry Henry / Red Bulls Robbie Keane / LA Galaxy Chris Wondolowski / San Jose |
| 2013 | Donovan Ricketts / Portland | Matt Besler / Sporting KC José Gonçalves / New England Omar Gonzalez / LA Galaxy |
Tim Cahill / Red Bulls Will Johnson / Portland Diego Valeri / Portland Graham Zusi / Sporting KC |
Marco Di Vaio / Montreal Robbie Keane / LA Galaxy Mike Magee / Chicago |
| 2014 | Bill Hamid / D.C. United | Bobby Boswell / D.C. United Omar Gonzalez / LA Galaxy Chad Marshall / Seattle |
Landon Donovan / LA Galaxy Thierry Henry / Red Bulls Lee Nguyen / New England Diego Valeri / Portland |
Robbie Keane / LA Galaxy Obafemi Martins / Seattle Bradley Wright-Phillips / Red Bulls |
| 2015 | Luis Robles / Red Bulls | Laurent Ciman / Montreal Matt Hedges / Dallas Kendall Waston / Vancouver |
Fabián Castillo / Dallas Benny Feilhaber / Sporting KC Ethan Finlay / Columbus Dax McCarty / Red Bulls |
Sebastian Giovinco / Toronto Kei Kamara / Columbus Robbie Keane / LA Galaxy |
| 2016 | Andre Blake / Philadelphia | Matt Hedges / Dallas Axel Sjöberg / Colorado Jelle Van Damme / LA Galaxy |
Mauro Díaz / Dallas Giovani dos Santos / LA Galaxy Sacha Kljestan / Red Bulls Ignacio Piatti / Montreal |
Sebastian Giovinco / Toronto David Villa / New York City Bradley Wright-Phillips / Red Bulls |
| 2017 | Tim Melia / Sporting KC | Justin Morrow / Toronto Ike Opara / Sporting KC Kendall Waston / Vancouver |
Miguel Almirón / Atlanta Sebastian Giovinco / Toronto Diego Valeri / Portland Víctor Vázquez / Toronto |
Josef Martínez / Atlanta Nemanja Nikolić / Chicago David Villa / New York City |
| 2018 | Zack Steffen / Columbus | Kemar Lawrence / Red Bulls Aaron Long / Red Bulls Chad Marshall / Seattle |
Luciano Acosta / D.C. United Miguel Almirón / Atlanta Ignacio Piatti / Montreal Carlos Vela / LAFC |
Zlatan Ibrahimović / LA Galaxy Josef Martínez / Atlanta Wayne Rooney / D.C. United |
| 2019 | Vito Mannone / Minnesota | Ike Opara / Minnesota Miles Robinson / Atlanta Walker Zimmerman / LAFC |
Eduard Atuesta / LAFC Carles Gil / New England Maximiliano Moralez / New York City Alejandro Pozuelo / Toronto |
Zlatan Ibrahimović / LA Galaxy Josef Martínez / Atlanta Carlos Vela / LAFC |
| 2020 | Andre Blake / Philadelphia | Mark McKenzie / Philadelphia Jonathan Mensah / Columbus Walker Zimmerman / Nashville |
Brenden Aaronson / Philadelphia Diego Chará / Portland Nicolás Lodeiro / Seattle Alejandro Pozuelo / Toronto |
Jordan Morris / Seattle Diego Rossi / LAFC Raúl Ruidíaz / Seattle |
| 2021 | Matt Turner / New England | Yeimar Gómez / Seattle Miles Robinson / Atlanta Walker Zimmerman / Nashville |
Tajon Buchanan / New England Carles Gil / New England Hany Mukhtar / Nashville João Paulo / Seattle |
Gustavo Bou / New England Taty Castellanos / New York City Raúl Ruidíaz / Seattle |
| 2022 | Andre Blake / Philadelphia | Jakob Glesnes / Philadelphia Kai Wagner / Philadelphia Walker Zimmerman / Nashville |
Luciano Acosta / Cincinnati Sebastián Driussi / Austin Dániel Gazdag / Philadelphia Hany Mukhtar / Nashville |
Jesús Ferreira / Dallas Brandon Vázquez / Cincinnati Carlos Vela / LAFC |
| 2023 | Roman Bürki / St. Louis | Matt Miazga / Cincinnati Tim Parker / St. Louis Walker Zimmerman / Nashville |
Luciano Acosta / Cincinnati Thiago Almada / Atlanta Héctor Herrera / Houston Hany Mukhtar / Nashville |
Denis Bouanga / LAFC Giorgos Giakoumakis / Atlanta Cucho Hernández / Columbus |
| 2024 | Kristijan Kahlina / Charlotte | Jordi Alba / Miami Yeimar Gómez / Seattle Steven Moreira / Columbus |
Luciano Acosta / Cincinnati Evander / Portland Riqui Puig / LA Galaxy |
Christian Benteke / D.C. Denis Bouanga / LAFC Cucho Hernández / Columbus Lionel Messi / Miami |
| 2025 | Dayne St. Clair / Minnesota | Tristan Blackmon / Vancouver Alex Freeman / Orlando Jakob Glesnes / Philadelphia Kai Wagner / Philadelphia |
Sebastian Berhalter / Vancouver Evander / Cincinnati Cristian Roldan / Seattle |
Denis Bouanga / LAFC Anders Dreyer / San Diego Lionel Messi / Miami |