Top MLS players to watch during the 2024 campaign. This is the topic of discussion in this article, and if you follow US soccer closely, you can anticipate some of the names you’ll read about here.
Major League Soccer has a long history of world-class players ending their professional careers playing for one of the clubs. Throughout the years we’ve had the King of Football Edson Arantes Do Nascimento play for New York Cosmos, and we had Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic do wonders with LA Galaxy. The English favorite David Beckham was also strutting his stuff in MLS.
But who are the key MLS players to watch in 2024? Whom should we keep a close eye on? Take a look at our list to find out who the top-rated players in Major League Soccer are this season.
Top MLS players to watch in 2024
Key MLS Players to watch – Eastern Conference
We will begin our list with Eastern Conference clubs. We have some very interesting names here, which definitely have the quality to get the job done for their sides:
- Lionel Messi – Inter Miami
- Luis Suarez – Inter Miami
- Jordi Alba – Inter Miami
- Sergio Busquets – Inter Miami
- Walker Zimmerman – Nashville
- Thiago Almada – Atlanta United
- Luciano Acosta – Cincinnati
- Lorenzo Insigne – Toronto
- Federico Bernardeschi – Toronto
- Hany Mukhtar – Nashville
As you can see, we have Inter Miami with four key MLS players to watch in 2024. It can’t be any other way. After all, we have arguably the best player in history Lionel Messi leading the Herons to a historic first trophy in the Leagues Cup last season. The 2023 Ballon d’Or winner deserves to top our list of most interesting MLS players to watch this season.
Following him are his close ex-Blaugrana friends Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez who just signed his professional contract with the club. We already got to see these four in action in the 0-0 tie against El Salvador a couple of days ago, but we are sure that the best is yet to come from these boys and you shouldn’t miss any of Inter Miami’s games this season.
Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne didn’t make much of a difference for Toronto last season, but they deserve to be on this list as well, as they have had quite successful careers in Europe as well.
Up-and-coming Almada’s name is linked with a possible move to the Netherlands’ Ajax. The Dutch giants are ready to break the bank on this one, but so far, we got no deal.
Key MLS players to watch – Western Conference
These are the players that will do their best to help their clubs win the Western Conference this year. We have exciting names here, so pay attention to this list:
- Hugo Lloris – Los Angeles
- Denis Bouanga – Los Angeles
- Riqui Puig – LA Galaxy
- Asier Illarramendi – FC Dallas
There are surely fewer players on the Western Conference list, but you have to admit that these players are undoubtedly among the best in the league. Hugo Lloris is topping the list, as he’s a Premier League legend. The French shot-stopping legend made a name for himself playing for Tottenham Hotspur and throughout his lengthy career he managed to win the Euro and World Cup.
Riqui Puig is going to play his second season for LA Galaxy. His first one was a massive success as the ex-Barcelona starlet needed no time to book a place among coach Greg Vanney’s starting XI.
Asier Illaramendi is a name that needs no introduction, as he was among the best midfielders in the Spanish La Liga a couple of years ago.
Finally, we have Denis Bouanga. And what a 2023 season he had! He scooped the Top Goalscorer Award in MLS and he is surely among the Top MLS players to watch in 2024.
More MLS players to watch after Suarez?
As mentioned earlier, Luis Suarez is the latest big name to boost US soccer. His presence will make the Herons even more dangerous in attack and will attract a lot of attention to MLS in general.
But are any European stars close to signing for MLS teams as well? Let’s have a look at who the transfer rumors send to MLS:
- Antoine Griezmann
- Olivier Giroud
- Luka Modric
These are the key players that might follow in the footsteps of giants Messi and Suarez. Los Blancos legend Luka Modric scooped up a Ballon d’Or a couple of years ago. Having him play on US soil would mean we will have two Ballon d’Or winners playing in MLS! He will have to choose between MLS and Saudi Arabia it seems, as both sides are desperate to have him.
Antoine Griezmann himself already said that he’d be happy to ‘one day’ play in MLS. It’s a career path that he deems interesting, so, he might just be one of the key MLS players to watch in 2024 as well.
Finally, we have Rossoneri superstar Olivier Giroud. The all-time French goalscorer is close to the end of his career. It’s very likely that Columbus Crew might tempt him to join MLS sooner than we think.
