MLS Free Agency: Top 10 Players Clubs Could Sign for 2026

The 2025 MLS offseason is underway as teams look to build their squads for the 2026 season and beyond.

Unlike many leagues across the world, MLS players do not have as much control over where they land, as the league continues to require players who have previously played within MLS to qualify for free agency, meaning a minimum of four years in the league.

Still, free agency is an ever-growing tool within MLS and will be harnessed by each club heading into the 2026 campaign. Players were allowed to sign starting Dec. 10, several remain on the market, either to sign with new teams or rejoin their latest club on a newly negotiated deal.

Sports Illustrated ranks the top 10 players still available across MLS free agency.

10. Fafá Picault

Fafá Picault isn't the type of player to build around, but few secondary players were as clinical as he was in limited minutes with Inter Miami in 2025. In 720 minutes, he racked up four goals and an assist and was always threatening off the bench.

At 34 years old, the two-way winger shouldn’t be a player signed with hopes of turning around a team, but with nine seasons of MLS experience and his hope to hit top form before playing for Haiti in their first World Cup since 1971, he could be a help to many teams.

Could a return to the Vancouver Whitecaps potentially be on the cards as well?

Potential Moves: Vancouver Whitecaps, Sporting Kansas City, CF Montréal

9. Diego Fagúndez

An experienced MLS midfielder, Fagúndez has 424 appearances across his time with the LA Galaxy, Austin FC and the New England Revolution. He can certainly still play starting minutes, even as he prepares to turn 31 at the start of next season.

While he could go back to the Galaxy and still likely have a role there, moving to a new system could also allow him to play a more critical role, especially with minutes potentially hard to come by when Riqui Puig returns to a crowded Galaxy side.

Potential Moves: Seattle Sounders, San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United

8. Sean Johnson

Despite playing with one of the worst teams in the league in 2024 and 2025, Sean Johnson showed that he can be one of the division’s best goalkeepers, often keeping Toronto FC in games they otherwise would lose by wide margins.

His save percentage of 75% ranks him in the top 10% of all MLS goalkeepers, and those numbers came while on a bad team.

Potential Moves: Orlando City SC, Red Bull New York, Sporting Kansas City

7. Robin Lod

Robin Löd is one of the most versatile players available in free agency. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Robin Lod rarely misses time due to injury and can be a versatile player, sometimes playing as a deep-lying striker or in a midfield transitional role. That flexibility allowed him to thrive with Minnesota United, but it could also put him in a strong position to help a team looking for more depth and an MLS Cup run over the next two seasons.

While he will be 33 years old for most of the season and isn’t the type of player to build around, he can certainly be helpful on several teams, given his adaptability. Last season, he racked up five goals and six assists in 33 matches.

Given his durability, one of the nine teams in the Concacaf Champions Cup should grab him.

Potential Moves: Nashville SC, FC Cincinnati, Philadelphia Union

6. Carlos Coronel

The veteran Paraguayan goalkeeper was a big part of getting Red Bull New York to the 2024 MLS Cup and was among the best goalkeepers in MLS for his game-saving ability, especially as RBNY struggled this season.

At 28 years old, he is a potential World Cup starter for Paraguay in the summer and won’t want to go to a place where he’d be fighting for minutes with another potential No. 1. That opens up options like Orlando, who should be in the market for every backstop, after parting ways with Pedro Gallese.

Potential Moves: Orlando City, Minnesota United, Toronto FC

5. Paul Rothrock

Paul Rothrock is coming off an iconic season with the Seattle Sounders, where his manager Brian Schmetzer quipped, “We have Paul Rothrock,” when posed a question on Lionel Messi ahead of the 2025 Leagues Cup final between Inter Miami and Seattle.

At 26 years old, Rothrock is in his prime and plays with incredible energy throughout a full 90 minutes, primarily on the wing. While he isn’t the type of player to completely change a bad team, his ability and emotional push can elevate an already good team into an unplayable one—think of him as an energetic knockout punch.

A homegrown Sounders product, Seattle will try to bring him back after he registered four goals and seven assists while proving to be a key player in their locker room. However, it’s easy to picture his flowing locks on an opposite wing to Jacob Shaffelburg’s “Tennessee Waterslide” with Nashville SC as well.

Potential Moves: Nashville SC, LA Galaxy, Orlando City

4. Cristian Espinoza

Cristian Espinoza has 217 MLS games of experience and is coming off another standout season with the San Jose Earthquakes, who missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. While the 30-year-old midfielder could swing downwards given his age, he likely has a few key years left to build with a club.

He led MLS in key passes this season with 117 and has proven his ability to link up with top strikers, as he did with Cristian Arango and Josef Martínez, putting up four goals and 12 assists in 31 matches.

A winger that can slot centrally, he would continue to fit in well with the Earthquakes under manager Bruce Arena, but will have other options within the league, potentially with Dallas as a flanking option for star striker Petar Musa.

Potential Moves: FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United

3. Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke will score goals wherever he signs. The most threatening striker on crosses and aerial set pieces, Benteke has proven his strength over four seasons with D.C. United, scoring 49 goals since 2022 and winning the 2024 MLS Golden Boot.

While MLS clubs could be wary of signing the 35-year-old on a DP deal, he could be fit for a TAM player, and would undeniably have plenty of options across the league.

The former Premier League star was a clinical goalscorer on some of the most dismal D.C. United teams in the club’s 30-year history, scoring most of his goals without stellar team buildup or significant support.

If he were on a strong team, he wouldn’t just have those opportunities to score, but plenty of others, which could put him right back in MLS Golden Boot contention. He’s already said he won’t be going back to D.C. as well.

With those factors determined, a “win-now” club is likely the best suitor, pointing towards a team like Minnesota United, who are in search of a striker after their form dipped following their sale of Tani Oluwaseyi to La Liga’s Villarreal.

Potential Moves: Minnesota United, Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls

2. Justin Haak

Finding starting center backs can be a challenge, but finding players who can play not only at the heart of defense, but also as a defensive midfielder and at a young age is almost impossible: Enter Justin Haak.

At 6'0", he is large enough to play on the backline, which he transitioned to full-time in 2025. At the same time, he continues to showcase the ball-playing and line-breaking abilities of a defensive midfielder, allowing teams to spark quick transitions.

A homegrown midfielder with NYCFC, any club would be smart to sign the versatile 24-year-old, who is entering his prime with 81 MLS regular-season appearances already under his belt.

Potential Moves: Inter Miami, Philadelphia Union, Sporting Kansas City

1. Dayne St. Clair

It’s not often any club has a chance to throw a deal at a reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, but that is what Dayne St. Clair is enjoying right now as clubs from across MLS—and reportedly Europe—offers him potential deals to move away from Minnesota United.

The 28-year-old is a key shot stopper who is strong on the ball and will be showcased to the world as Canada’s likely starter at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil. This season with Minnesota, he had a league-best 77.9% save ratio and set a career high in saves with 113 and clean sheets with 10.

Finding a superstar goalkeeper isn’t easy and St. Clair is looking for a prime opportunity not only to win after being eliminated in the MLS Western Conference semifinal but to play on a strong team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Potential Moves: Toronto FC, LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls