Waiting for the official announcement of the signing of Leo Messi for him between miamithe arrival of crack in the MLS It will be a revolution for the American league and the Argentine one will add to the long list of soccer legends who decided to play in the United States at some point in their award-winning careers. From precursors like Pele either Johan Cruyff until a more recent count Thierry Henry either Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a great impact on the league and now it’s the turn of Messi.
1
Pele
NY Cosmos
After his legendary spell with Santos, Pelé signed for the New York Cosmos in 1975 and spent two more years on American soil.
2
Johan Cruyff
Aztecs of Los Angeles, Diplomats of Washington
After leaving Barça, Cruyff played for the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1979 and the Washington Diplomats in 1980. He returned to Europe with Levante in 1981, but returned to the US capital the same year before playing his final seasons in the Netherlands.
3
George Best
Los Angeles Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, San Jose Earthquakes
One of the best players in Europe in the history and legend of Manchester United. He played for three American League teams in the final years of his career.
4
Franz Beckenbauer
new york cosmos
The German defender, a historic Bayern Munich player, played for the New York Cosmos in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983.
5
eusebius
Boston Minutemen, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, New Jersey Americans
The Portuguese forward, a Benfica legend, played seven games with the Boston Minutemen in 1975 and in the 1976-77 season he defended the Las Vegas Quicksilvers jersey. He finished his career in the second division with the New Jersey Americans in 1978.
6
Gerd Müller
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
After making history at Bayern Munich, Müller continued to score goals in the last three years of his career (1979-1981) with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
7
Johan Neeskens
New York Cosmos, Kansas City Comets
The Dutch midfielder played with the New York Cosmos (1979-1984), winning two League titles, and also with the Kansas City Comets in the 1985-86 season.
8
Carlos Valderrama
Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion, Colorado Rapids
The iconic Colombian midfielder spent the last nine years of his career (1996-2002) in the United States.
9
Hugo Sanchez
San Diego Sockers, Dallas Burn
The Mexican goalscorer played two years (1979-1980) for the San Diego Sockers before signing for Atlético de Madrid and in 1996 he returned to the United States with the Dallas Burn.
10
Hristo Stoichkhov
Chicago Fire, DC United
The Bulgarian forward, Ballon d’Or winner in 1994 and a culé legend, spent the last years of his career in the United States. He joined the Chicago Fire in March 2000 and in 2003 he went to DC United, where he retired.
Eleven
David Beckham
LA Galaxy
The English midfielder revolutionized MLS when he signed for LA Galaxy in 2007. He was in the United States until 2013, with loan spells at AC Milan and PSG in between.
12
Alessandro Nesta
CF Montreal
The talented Italian central defender played in the MLS during the 2012-13 season, although he did so to defend a Canadian team like CF Montreal.
13
Thierry Henry
New York Red Bulls
The French striker was another one of the cracks that decided to try the American adventure and in 2010 he signed for the NY Red Bulls. In January 2012, he spent a month and a half on loan at Arsenal before returning to New York and hanging up his boots in 2015.
14
Steven Gerrard
LA Galaxy
After an amazing career at Liverpool, the Englishman left for the United States in 2015 and spent his last year and a half as a professional with the LA Galaxy.
fifteen
David Villa
New York City
After leaving Atlético, the Spanish forward signed for New York City in the summer of 2014. He went on loan to Melbourne City in October of the same year and ended his American spell in 2019, when he signed for Vissel Kobe .
16
Frank Lampard
New York City
The English midfielder signed for New York City in the summer of 2014 and went on loan to Manchester City, but returned the following season to hang up his boots in 2017 in the United States.
17
bro
City of Orlando
Ballon d’Or winner in 2007, the Brazilian playmaker moved to Orlando in 2014 and ended his career there in 2017.
18
Andrea Pirlo
New York City
The Italian midfielder signed for New York City in the summer of 2015 and retired from the American club at the end of 2017.
19
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Chicago Fire
A key player at Bayern Munich and after a fruitless stint at Manchester United, the German midfielder left for the Chicago Fire in March 2017 to retire at the end of 2019.
twenty
Wayne Rooney
DC United
The English forward signed for DC United of Washington in the summer of 2018. He returned to England in the winter of 2020 to retire at Derby County, but is now the current manager of DC United.
twenty-one
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
LA Galaxy
The Swedish striker signed for LA Galaxy in March 2018 amid great media hype and played at a high level until January 2020, before returning to AC Milan where he recently retired as a professional.
22
Leo Messi
between miami
The Argentine star, considered by many to be the greatest of all time, was last seen in MLS at the hands of Inter Miami.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
