Where Have All the Americans in MLS Gone? | OneFootball

Major League Soccer was originally created as a platform for Americans to play the game. But while Americans are still present on MLS rosters, few hold key positions, raising the question: is MLS too dominated by imported talent?

When Major League Soccer launched in 1996, the first player to score a goal in the new league was the United States men’s national team top scorer at the time, Eric Wynalda. While international stars like Carlos Valderrama, Roberto Donadoni, and Jorge Campos helped boost the league in its inaugural season, the backbone of MLS in its early years was the commitment of American players.

Tab Ramos, John Harkes, and Alexi Lalas all left European clubs to join the upstart league, which would soon be carried by the likes of Tony Meola, Eddie Pope, Cobi Jones, Brian McBride, and many more. Later, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey would carry the torch for top Americans in MLS.

The original idea was for MLS to become a “league of choice” for Americans. However, if we look at today’s MLS rosters, it’s clear that the reliance on American players in key positions has significantly diminished over the past decade.

Through seven games of the 2025 MLS season, no American player is among the league’s top 15 scorers, while Quinn Sullivan is the only American among the top assist leaders. Young American talents like Diego Luna, Jalen Neal, Reed Baker-Whiting, and Cavan Sullivan are emerging, but American talent is increasingly scattered across teams rather than being prominent figures.

There are teams like the Seattle Sounders, FC Dallas, and the Philadelphia Union that start American players, while clubs like Orlando City, Inter Miami, and the LA Galaxy tend to rely more on international talent. The trend of using Americans mainly to fill out rosters rather than to lead them is concerning.

While MLS can’t be blamed completely for this trend, the players and lack of development also plays a key role. It is eye-raising to see so few American players standing out in their own league.

Why Has American Participation Dwindled?

There are more Americans in MLS than ever before, but this is largely a matter of numbers, not actual on-field impact. When American players played significant roles in MLS, the league had 10, 15, or even 18 teams. Today, with 30 teams and players from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, as well as countries like Jamaica, Japan, and Algeria (not exactly world powers in soccer), the competition for spots has become much fiercer.

Many top American players have been poached by European clubs at the youth level, including Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic, and Weston McKennie, meaning some of the best talent in the country rarely plays in MLS.

Second-tier USMNTers like Gianluca Busio, Brenden Aaronson, and Tanner Tessmann also left MLS as teenagers, and saw brief, albeit frutiful stints in MLS. Top American players basically no longer play in MLS, which isn’t a bad thing, however clubs across the league have struggled to replace the young talents they sell to top teams abroad. Instead of a consistent MLS-to-Europe pipeline that regularly churns out new players, it seems to be more of a roulette of chance, which is a bit worrisome.

Again, there are exceptions to the rule like the Union, NYCFC, FC Dallas, and the New York Red Bulls, but then again those are the teams that take their youth academies more seriously.

The introduction of various mechanisms designed to bring in foreign talent has hindered opportunities for American players to consistently feature. For example, in Inter Miami’s CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal against LAFC, Noah Allen was the only American-born player on the field in a pink shirt, and he now represents Greece, so technically, he is no longer considered “American.” Benja Cremaschi, another young talent, came on as a second-half substitute, but he is not a regular starter for Miami.

The limited amount of Americans that regularly feature for MLS’s flagship club further highlights the dwindling opportunities they see across the league.

LAFC fared slightly better, with Aaron Long, Ryan Hollingshead, Timothy Tillman (a dual national), and Marco Delgado all playing in the match. However, none of these players are considered USMNT regulars, and many are MLS veterans rather than rising stars at this point.

The main issue impacting American players’ minutes is the green card rule in MLS. As more international players receive green cards, they no longer count towards the international roster slot, as they are considered U.S. residents.

Taking the Portland Timbers roster as an example, a whopping four players are eligible to play for the USMNT on their current roster. That’s as many as Dutch side PSV has.

The Danger of Being “Too Foreign”

MLS already struggles to remain relevant in its own markets. The league is behind a paywall, making games harder to watch on TV, and its evolution into a selling league sees players coming and going frequently, which makes it difficult to establish long-lasting storylines. Meanwhile, American players are being sold to European clubs or not even playing in MLS before turning pro.

It seems American players on MLS rosters are simply there to “make up the numbers” rather than to be in the spotlight. Yes, players must earn their spot on the field, but when the doors are so closed to them, where else can they turn?

Today, MLS is more renowned for importing top talent than for developing it. Youth soccer in the United States has been criticized for its pay-to-play system, and inadequate coaching that fails to develop American players effectively.

Imports are a “quick fix” to improve a team in the short term, but over the long haul, American players are facing more and more closed doors.

Adding a Limit on Foreign Players and the Potential Rise of USL

As the pipeline for American players in MLS begins to dry up, the news that the USL will build its promotion and relegation system around American talent could provide a new avenue for players seeking playing time, where they might not find it in MLS.

Diego Luna, for example, had to play in the USL after being deemed “overweight” by American soccer scouts. He left the Earthquakes youth system to play for El Paso Locomotive, which turned out to be a huge opportunity. Luna has since stepped up for the USMNT and was one of the few bright spots in the team’s 2025 CONCACAF Nations League campaign.

Other American talents looking for real first-team minutes before making a move to Europe might opt for the USL, taking lower wages for the chance to play regularly rather than sit on the bench in MLS or stagnate at a European club.

Another idea, though far-fetched, could be that MLS teams adopt a stricter limit on foreign players, similar to what is seen in Argentina and Brazil. In Argentina, clubs are allowed six foreign players but can only have five on the field at any time. In Brazil, teams are limited to nine foreigners per match-day roster.

Another move can be to mandate a certain amount of American players on the field. There really isn’t an excuse for a team to not be able to place three American-born players on the field at any given time.

At one time, MLS and U.S. Soccer seemed to align on the goal of developing American players and ensuring they played in MLS to strengthen the national team. While MLS mandates that all teams invest in youth academies, the success of these academies is hit or miss.

The Philadelphia Union have done a decent job of developing players, with Sullivan potentially becoming a key product of their system. NYCFC has already sold various American players, with Maximo Carrizo being the next big name from their academy.

However, other teams, like the Colorado Rapids, Orlando City, and, to some extent, the LA Galaxy, have done little to foster homegrown talent in recent years.

While MLS is now focused on capitalizing on Lionel Messi’s presence and the 2026 World Cup, the American player — once the backbone of MLS — has become an afterthought. It’s time to make MLS Next Pro a worthwhile project that develops hundreds of players, not just a handful.

Hopefully MLS can go back to being a league of choice for American players and not being an American league in name only.