Who Are The Designated Players In The MLS?
In Major League Soccer, there is a rule known as the Designated Player rule which has seen some incredible talent move to the United States or Canada to play football. But what is it and who are the current Designated Players (DP’s) playing for?
Nicknamed the Beckham rule, the designated player rule was introduced after the 2007 season. The rule allows each MLS team to sign up to three players that would be considered outside the teams salary cap. This allows MLS teams to compete for international stars services.
David Beckham was the first player signed under this rule.
Below we have collated all the current DP’s as well as looking at notable past DP’s.
Atlanta United
Current DP’s: Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez, Ezequiel Barco
Chicago Fire
Current DP’s: Nemanja Nikolic, Bastian Schweinsteiger
Notable past DP: Freddie Ljungberg
Bastian Schweinsteiger of Chicago Fire (Getty Images)
Colorado Rapids
Current DP’s: Shkelzen Gashi, Tim Howard
Notable past DP’s: Kevin Doyle, Gabriel Torres, Jermaine Jones
Columbus Crew
Current DP’s: Federico Higuain, Pedro Santos, Milton Valenzuela
Notable past DP: Jonathan Mensah
D.C. United
Current DP’s: Paul Arriola, Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney of DC United (Getty Images)
FC Dallas
Current DP’s: Carlos Gruezo, Cristian Colman, Santiago Mosquera
Notable past DP: Denilson
Houston Dynamo
Current DP’s: Alberth Elis, Tomas Martinez
Notable past DP: DaMarcus Beasley
Los Angeles FC
Current DP’s: Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, Andre Horta
Gerrard playing for LA Galaxy (Getty Images)
LA Galaxy
Current DP’s: Giovani Dos Santos, Romain Allessandrini, Jonathan Dos Santos
Notable past DP’s: David Beckham, London Donavan, Juan Pablo Angel, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard
Minnesota United FC
Current DP’s: Darwin Quintero, Angelo Rodriguez
Montreal Impact
Current DP’s: Ignacio Platto, Saphir Taider
Notable past DP: Didier Drogba
New England Revolution
Current DP’s: Claude Dielna
Notable past DP: Jermaine Jones
New York City FC
Current DP’s: David Villa, Maximiliano Moralez, Jesus Medina
Notable past DP’s: Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo
Frank Lampard playing for New York City FC (Getty Images)
New York Red Bulls
Current DP’s: Bradley Wright-Phillips
Notable past DP’s: Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, Tim Cahill
Orlando City SC
Current DP’s: Dom Dwyer, Sacha Kljestan, Josue Colman
Notable past DP: Kaka
Kaka playing for Orlando (Getty Images)
Philadelphia Union
Current DP’s: Alejandro Bedoya, Borek Dockal
Notable past DP’s: Kleberson, Freddy Adu
Portland Timbers
Current DP’s: Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco
Real Salt Lake
Current DP’s: Albert Rusnak, Jefferson Savarino
San Jose Earthquakes
Current DP’s: Chris Wondolowski, Valeri, Qazaishvili
Clint Dempsey playing for Seattle (Getty Images)
Seattle Sounders FC
Current DP’s: Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso, Nicolas Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz
Notable past DP’s: Freddie Ljungberg, Obafemi Martins
Sporting Kansas City
Current DP’s: Roger Espinoza, Yohan Croizet, Felipe Gutierrez
Toronto FC
Current DP’s Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore
Notable past DP’s: Torsten Frings, Gilberto, Jermain Defoe
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Current DP’s: Brek Shea, Kendall Watson
Notable past DP: Kenny Miller
