Is Lionel Messi still the best player in America as the new MLS season prepares for kick-off? Five players to watch | OneFootball

With the 2026 Major League Soccer season set to begin, attention inevitably focuses towards the league’s biggest names. The MLS season offers a fascinating mix of established legends and fresh faces in a World Cup year that places North America at the centre of the footballing world.

Here are five players hoping to shape the season.

Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

It is impossible to look past Lionel Messi. Since joining Inter Miami CF in 2023, the Argentine has redefined expectations in MLS. Last season’s 35-goal haul propelled Miami to the MLS Cup and underlined his enduring brilliance at 38.

Messi remains the league’s ultimate player. His vision, composure and relentless output set the standard, and with Miami chasing consecutive titles, the burden rests firmly on his shoulders once again.

Heung-min Son (LAFC)

Few arrivals have generated as much excitement as Heung-min Son at Los Angeles FC. After settling in following his mid-2025 move, Son now embarks on his first full MLS season.

Still quick going forward and clinical in front of goal, he forms part of a devastating partnership with Denis Bouanga. If LAFC are to dethrone Miami, Son’s pace and big-game pedigree will be central to that push.

Denis Bouanga (LAFC)

While Son’s reputation precedes him, Bouanga has often been LAFC’s most decisive figure. The Gabon international delivered 26 goals and nine assists last season, terrorising defences with direct running and ruthless finishing.

With added creativity behind him this season, Bouanga could lift his numbers even further and cement his status as one of MLS’s most complete forwards.

Thomas Muller (Vancouver Whitecaps)

Class tells in title races, and German striker Thomas Muller brings it in abundance to Vancouver Whitecaps. His seven goals in seven regular-season appearances, after arriving last summer, transformed Vancouver’s attack.

Now set for his first full season, Muller’s big-match know-how makes him invaluable to a side eager to go one better after last year’s final defeat.

James Rodriguez (Minnesota United)

A World Cup year invites nostalgia, and few players embody that like James Rodriguez. The former Golden Boot winner in 2014 arrives at Minnesota United seeking a renaissance after a difficult spell in Mexico.

If Rodriguez can rediscover even flashes of the creativity and long-range brilliance that once made him a global superstar, he could become one of the league’s most compelling players.