The 10 best transfers from Europe to the MLS, including Wayne Rooney & Zlatan Ibrahimovic

While MLS has recently become a haven for young South American prospects, the league’s ties with Europe remain as strong as ever.

In the past, the MLS has been seen by European players as a way to keep playing high-level football into their older years, as former stars like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa have crossed the pond.

However, MLS has also been used as a way for young European prospects to break out before a move to one of Europe’s top flight leagues.

Here, we’ll break down the 10 best moves from Europe to the MLS. All statistics are from TransferMarkt.

A former Premier League star, Chicharito enjoyed success in his first three seasons with Manchester United, scoring 50 goals in all competitions while helping United win the Premier League in 2010/11 and 2012/13. Although his production fell off from there, he still enjoyed playing time with Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham United, and Sevilla.

However, it was with the Mexican national team that Chicharito truly established his legacy. He has scored 52 goals in 109 caps, won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2011 while leading Mexico in scoring with seven goals, and played a key role in three World Cup teams in 2010, 2014 and 2018, falling in the Round of 16 each time. He retired from international duty in 2019 as Mexico’s all-time leading scorer.

Transferring to Los Angeles Galaxy in January 2020, Chicharito struggled to find his footing in MLS at first, scoring only two goals in 12 appearances. He had a renaissance year in 2021, though, with 17 goals in just 21 appearances, his best scoring campaign since 2015/16 with Bayer Leverkusen. Chicharito’s star is still rising in MLS as he looks to guide the Galaxy back to the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2022.

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