The 10 MLS players with the highest price tag

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 2 min read

Thiago Almada is the most highly-valued player in MLS.

The Argentine signed for Atlanta United from Velez Sarsfield in December 2021 in a league-record transfer, despite the interest of a number of Europe's big clubs.

Almada is valued at €14.5 million.

FootballTransfers' transfer valuations are calculated in collaboration with SciSports, a world-leading football analytics agency that assesses the relative transfer valuations of over 60,000 professional footballers worldwide. SciSports use multiple data points including current and potential ability, contract length, form, age, and other crucial factors.

REVEALED: The world's most valuable footballers

In second place is another South American in the form of Dallas' Alan Velasco at €9.4m.

Velasco only arrived at Dallas in February 2022 in the most expensive deal in the club's history from Independiente.

Completing the podium is another recent signing in Chicago Fire's Xherdan Shaqiri (€9.4m), who has just moved from Lyon in France.

Shaqiri previously enjoyed a storied career with the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter, Liverpool and the Switzerland national team.

Three Brazilians occupy the next three places.

In December New York City FC won the Eastern Conference in MLS and one of their players, Talles Magno, is the fourth most valuable player in the league at €7.8m.

His fellow Brazilian, Atlanta United's Luiz Araujo, is in fifth at €7.3m and another Samba star is in sixth in Cincinnati's Brenner at €6.9m.

The next three players are also all South Americans; Orlando's Facundo Torres (€5.8m), Vancouver Whitecaps' Pedro Vite (€5.6m) and Austin FC's Sebastian Driussi (€5.3m).

There is only one American on our list and they come in the form of Inter Miami wing-back DeAndre Yedlin, valued at €5.2m.

Most valuable players in MLS