The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs.
Winners
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Goalkeeper
!Defenders
!Midfielders
!Forwards
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|1996<br>
| Mark Dodd, Dallas
| Leonel Álvarez, Dallas<br> John Doyle, San Jose<br> Robin Fraser, LA Galaxy
| Mauricio Cienfuegos, LA Galaxy<br> Roberto Donadoni, MetroStars<br> Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United<br> Preki, Kansas City<br> Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay
| Eduardo Hurtado, LA Galaxy<br> Roy Lassiter, Tampa Bay
|- style="background:#f4f4f4;"
|style="text-align: center;"|1997<br>
| Brad Guzan, Chivas USA
| Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA<br> Michael Parkhurst, New England<br> Eddie Robinson, Houston
| Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus<br> Dwayne De Rosario, Houston (3)<br> Christian Gómez, D.C. United (3)<br> Shalrie Joseph, New England (2)<br> Ben Olsen, D.C. United
| Juan Pablo Angel, Red Bulls<br> Luciano Emílio, D.C. United
|- style="background:#f4f4f4;"
|style="text-align: center;"|2008<br>
| Matt Turner, New England
| Yeimar Gómez, Seattle<br> Miles Robinson, Atlanta (2)<br> Walker Zimmerman, Nashville (3)
| Tajon Buchanan, New England<br> Carles Gil, New England (2)<br> Hany Mukhtar, Nashville<br> João Paulo, Seattle
| Gustavo Bou, New England<br> Taty Castellanos, New York City<br> Raúl Ruidíaz, Seattle (2)
|- style="background:#f4f4f4;"
|style="text-align: center;"|2022<br>
| Andre Blake, Philadelphia (3)
| Jakob Glesnes, Philadelphia<br> Kai Wagner, Philadelphia<br> Walker Zimmerman, Nashville (4)
| Luciano Acosta, Cincinnati (2)<br> Sebastián Driussi, Austin<br> Dániel Gazdag, Philadelphia<br> Hany Mukhtar, Nashville (2)
| Jesús Ferreira, Dallas<br> Brandon Vázquez, Cincinnati<br> Carlos Vela, LAFC (3)
|-
|- style="background:#f4f4f4;"
|style="text-align: center;"|2023<br>
| Roman Bürki, St. Louis
| Matt Miazga, Cincinnati<br> Tim Parker, St. Louis<br> Walker Zimmerman, Nashville (5)
| Luciano Acosta, Cincinnati (3)<br> Thiago Almada, Atlanta<br> Héctor Herrera, Houston<br> Hany Mukhtar, Nashville (3)
| Denis Bouanga, LAFC<br> Giorgos Giakoumakis, Atlanta<br> Cucho Hernández, Columbus
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|2024<br>
| Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte
| Jordi Alba, Miami<br> Yeimar Gómez, Seattle (2)<br> Steven Moreira, Columbus
| Luciano Acosta, Cincinnati (4)<br> Evander, Portland<br> Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy
| Christian Benteke, D.C.<br> Denis Bouanga, LAFC (2)<br> Cucho Hernández, Columbus (2)<br> Lionel Messi, Miami
|-
| style="text-align: center;" |2025<br>
| Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota
| Tristan Blackmon, Vancouver<br> Alex Freeman, Orlando<br> Jakob Glesnes, Philadelphia (2)<br> Kai Wagner, Philadelphia (2)
| Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver<br> Evander, Cincinnati (2)<br> Cristian Roldan, Seattle
| Denis Bouanga, LAFC (3)<br> Anders Dreyer, San Diego<br> Lionel Messi, Miami (2)
|}
Appearances by player
thumb|With seven appearances, [[Landon Donovan has the most selections to the MLS Best XI]]
The following players have appeared in the MLS Best XI two or more times.
Updated as of the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
| style="background-color:#CFECEC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| ^
|Denotes players who are still active in Major League Soccer
|-
| style="background-color:#FFFF99; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| *
|Denotes players who are still active outside of Major League Soccer
|-
| style="background-color:#CCFF99; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| †
|Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a player
|-
|Year<br><small>(bold text)</small>
|Indicates the player won the MVP Award
|-
|Year<br><small>(italicized text)</small>
|Indicates the player won the MLS Defender of the Year Award
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ MLS Best XI appearances
|-
! Player
!
!
! Years
! Club(s)
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|7
|align=center|M/F
|
|San Jose Earthquakes (1), LA Galaxy (6)
|-
|
|align=center|6
|align=center|M
|
|San Jose Earthquakes (1), Houston Dynamo (2), Toronto FC (2), D.C. United (1)
|-
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|5
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|5
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|4
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|4
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|4
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|4
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|3
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|3
|align=center|GK
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|F
|
|Columbus Crew (1), Real Salt Lake (1),<br>FC Dallas (1)
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|3
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M/F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|3
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|2005, 2006
|
|-
|bgcolor="#CCFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|1997, 1998
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|GK
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|GK
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|GK
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|GK
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|M
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|F
|
|
|-
| bgcolor="#CFECEC"|
|align=center|2
|align=center|D
|
|
|}
Appearances by team
Updated as of the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season.
{|| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Club
! Apps
|-
|LA Galaxy || 38
|-
|D.C. United || 29
|-
|Chicago Fire || 23
|-
|Kansas City Wiz/Kansas City Wizards/Sporting Kansas City || 22
|-
|NY/NJ MetroStars/MetroStars/New York Red Bulls || 20
|-
|Columbus Crew || 18
|-
|New England Revolution || 17
|-
|San Jose Clash/Earthquakes || 16
|-
|Dallas Burn/FC Dallas || 15
|-
|Seattle Sounders FC || 14
|-
|Philadelphia Union || 11
|-
|Los Angeles FC || 9
|-
|Toronto FC || 9
|-
|Atlanta United FC || 8
|-
|Houston Dynamo || 8
|-
|Colorado Rapids || 7
|-
|Nashville SC || 7
|-
|Portland Timbers || 7
|-
|Tampa Bay Mutiny || 7
|-
|FC Cincinnati || 6
|-
|Miami Fusion || 5
|-
|Real Salt Lake || 5
|-
|Chivas USA || 4
|-
|Montreal Impact/CF Montréal || 4
|-
|New York City FC || 4
|-
|Vancouver Whitecaps FC|| 4
|-
|Inter Miami CF || 3
|-
|Minnesota United FC || 3
|-
|St. Louis City SC || 2
|-
|Charlotte FC || 1
|-
|Orlando City SC
|1
|-
|San Diego FC
|1
|}
Appearances by nationality
Updated as of the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Nationality
!Apps
|-
|
| align="center" |153
|-
|
| align="center" |23
|-
|
| align="center" |18
|-
|
| align="center" |11
|-
|
| align="center" |9
|-
|
| align="center" |9
|-
|
| align="center" |6
|-
|
| align="center" |6
|-
|
| align="center" |6
|-
|
| align="center" |6
|-
|
| align="center" |5
|-
|
| align="center" |5
|-
|
| align="center" |4
|-
|
| align="center" |4
|-
|
| align="center" |4
|-
|
| align="center" |4
|-
|
| align="center" |4
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |3
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |2
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|-
|
| align="center" |1
|}
See also
- MLS All-Time Best XI