MLS Player Rankings: Red Bulls’ Kljestan, BWP Surge After Drubbing of NYCFC

The one thing everyone who watches Major League Soccer was talking about after Week 12 was the New York Red Bulls' blowout win over New York City FC on Saturday.  The victory by Jesse Marsch's side was an extension of a solid run of form that has taken the club into third place in the Eastern Conference. Sacha Kljestan, who has been the epitome of consistency during the Red Bulls' run of form, has earned a high place on our Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings due to his individual showing at Yankee Stadium.  In addition to Kljestan's surge up the list of the top-20 in-form players in the league, two other Red Bulls make their debuts on the chart after Week 12.  Our rankings take into account the last four games individuals participated in, with the most recent match holding the most importance.  Continue reading to find out which stars also landed a spot in our latest MLS Player Rankings.Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: McCarty, BWP, Kaka, Larin Shine During Rivalry Week

Major League Soccer's Rivalry Week may not have lived up to the hype in terms of competition on the pitch, but it certainly produced some interesting results.  The biggest eye-popper from Week 12 was the New York Red Bulls' 7-0 thrashing of New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. Dax McCarty and Bradley Wright-Phillips bagged a brace each in the victory. The impressive performances from the Red Bulls duo placed them at the forefront of our Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week. Outside of the rivalry matches, FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids and Orlando City turned in solid 90-minute showings across North America. Each team has multiple players in Week 12's best XI.  Continue reading to see who joined the aforementioned players in our latest MLS best XI.Begin Slideshow

Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: Red Bulls, NYCFC Enter Rivalry Week in Solid Form

The New York Red Bulls and New York City FC are set to renew hostilities for the fourth time in the history of their young rivalry on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.  Just over a month ago, the match between the teams separated by the Hudson River was set to be a battle of disappointing clubs in search of a needed victory.  Since April 24, the pair of New York-area clubs have combined for six wins, three draws and one loss in 10 games. Jesse Marsch's Red Bulls are responsible for the lone blemish during the string of recent results. The Red Bulls fell 2-0 to D.C. United a week ago in a rivalry game that carries as much—if not more—importance than the one they will partake in on Saturday afternoon. The Red Bulls responded to the defeat at RFK Stadium with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, but one has to think they're saving their best performance for their trip to the Bronx.  One player in particular who may break out for the team based in Harrison, New Jersey is Bradley Wright-Phillips, who scored four goals across three rivalry showdowns in 2015. The Englishman has scored on just three occasions in 2016, ...

Kaka, Frank Lampard Among MLS’ Highest-Paid Players for 2016-17 Season

Orlando City's Kaka ($7.167 million) and Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco ($7.115 million) are the highest-paid players in MLS in the 2016-17 season, the MLS Players Union (via Steven Goff of the Washington Post) revealed Thursday. Toronto FC's Michael Bradley ($6.5 million), the Los Angeles Galaxy's Steven Gerrard ($6.132 million) and New York City FC's Frank Lampard ($6 million) round out the top five. The majority of the remaining top earners in MLS are either stars on the United States men's national team (Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard) or former stars in Europe (Andrea Pirlo, David Villa, Robbie Keane, Didier Drogba).  That trend is likely to continue, as stars from Europe continue to trickle into MLS at the end of their careers to earn big contracts before retiring while the MLS budget continues to grow. The latest European star who is rumored to make the jump to MLS is Paris Saint-Germain superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, per Loic Tanzi of Goal.com, and Ibra would surely become the league's highest earner upon his arrival. According to Tanzi, "It has also been reported that Ibrahimovic has a concrete proposal from MLS worth $580,000 per week—the same figure that he earns in Paris." While Ibra would likely garner a small fortune if he made the leap to American ...

MLS Player Rankings: Giovinco Goes Top, Bolanos and Manneh Debut After Week 11

It was going to take a special individual showing in Week 11 to take Giovani dos Santos out of the top spot of our weekly MLS Player Rankings.  One of the few stars in Major League Soccer capable of producing more skill than the Mexican showed off his tremendous abilities on Saturday in a losing effort.  Thanks to his performance against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Sebastian Giovinco returned to the spot he called home for most of 2015. As for the victorious team at BMO Field in Week 11, Vancouver produced two of the five new entrants to the list of the top 20 in-form players in MLS.  Our rankings take into account the last four games individuals participated in, with the most recent match holding the most importance.  Continue reading to see which stars earned a spot in the Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings after Week 11.Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Manneh, Giovinco Star in Shootout, Nguyen, Beasley Feature

Major League Soccer handed us a few unexpected twists in Week 11 as Vancouver Whitecaps and New York City FC produced a pair of unlikely results on the road.  The Whitecaps defeated Toronto FC at BMO Field in a wild seven-goal affair three days after they downed the Chicago Fire at home. NYCFC turned plenty of heads on Sunday with their 2-1 win over defending champions Portland Timbers at Providence Park. The stars of each of those performances are a part of a group of players from nine different teams that make up our Week 11 MLS Team of the Week.  Because there were five games on Wednesday in addition to the regular weekend slate, some players were judged for our best XI off two performances. Continue reading to see who was named in the Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week. Begin Slideshow

MLS Player Rankings: LA Galaxy Stars Dominate Top 2, Morris, Drogba Move Up List

The LA Galaxy attack has lived up to its potential in Major League Soccer over the last month as Bruce Arena's side has found the back of the net on 14 occasions since April 15.  It comes as no surprise that two of the Galaxy's stars find themselves in the top two positions in our weekly Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings.  Choosing the correct spot for each player on the list was a difficult task this week as nine of the top 10 and 15 of the top 20 recorded either a goal or an assist in Week 10.  Our rankings take into account the last four games individuals participated in, with the most recent match holding the most importance.  Continue reading to see which stars feature on the latest list of the top 20 in-form players in MLS. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Kamara, Higuain, Drogba, Keane Star in Week 10

The stars of Major League Soccer left us with plenty of things to discuss following Week 10's matches.  The major talking point from the weekend's action came from Columbus, as Kei Kamara caught everyone's attention for his post-match remarks regarding Federico Higuain. The pair shined throughout the first half before everything went awry for the Crew.  In the same match, Didier Drogba and his Montreal Impact teammates produced a three-goal comeback to earn a point on the road at Mapfre Stadium.  Out in the Western Conference on Sunday, Robbie Keane produced a two-goal showing in his return to the pitch for the LA Galaxy. Due to the plethora of impressive attacking performances in Week 10, we shaped our Team of the Week in a 3-4-3 formation. Continue reading to see who joined Kamara, Higuain, Drogba and Keane in our weekly best XI. Begin Slideshow

LAFC Stadium Gets Final Planning and Environmental Approval from City Council

Los Angeles Football Club announced Friday that the Los Angeles City Council has granted final planning and environmental approvals for a soccer-specific stadium.  Based in southern Los Angeles, the new stadium will hold 22,000 seats and will be ready for the club's inaugural season in 2018.    The new club that gained admission into the MLS in 2014 proposed this new stadium in May 2015, which LAFC Fan Club showed the renderings of: LAFC managing partner and owner Henry Nguyen spoke after the City Council's decision: LAFC’s promise is to unite the world’s city through the world’s game. Today, through the collaborative vision and efforts of the City Council and the people of Los Angeles, we continue to work towards that promise.  Everyone has invested a tremendous amount of time, hard work, thought and energy and we are now one step closer to making our shared vision a reality. The new stadium will be on the site of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which will be demolished this summer. It is right near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the iconic stadium that is the home of USC football and now the Los Angeles Rams It's already been a busy year for the MLS' newest club as it unveiled a new co-owner along ...

Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: Colorado Rapids’ Hot Start Is No Fluke

Go ahead and take a look at the Western Conference standings in Major League Soccer. Now take one more glance at the table since you probably didn't believe what you saw the first time around. After being the laughing stock of the league in 2015, the Colorado Rapids lead the West and the Supporters' Shield standings with 17 points through nine weeks.  There's no guarantee Pablo Mastroeni's men will stay in first place as the traditional powers in the West get better over the coming months, but the Rapids have made a statement at the start of 2016 that they have improved despite plenty of skepticism.  The Rapids, who caught a good amount of criticism for acquiring Jermaine Jones in the offseason, are benefiting from the play of a few other new signings in midfield. Colorado brought in Micheal Azira by way of the waiver draft and Shkelzen Gashi on a transfer from FC Basel before the thought of inking Jones to a deal was a possibility.  The 28-year-old Azira, who played for the Seattle Sounders over the last two seasons, has brought some stability to the central part of midfield after Marcelo Sarvas left for D.C. United. Thanks to Azira's success in the holding ...