9 forgotten ballers you had no idea are now playing in the MLS: Reus, Zaha… | OneFootball

The MLS is a hotbed for old Premier League cult heroes and one-time next big things from the continent, as this list of eclectic names will demonstrate.

We’re ignoring the likes of Lionel Messi, Son Heung-min, Luis Suarez and Thomas Muller, famous names that most casual fans will be aware are now playing Stateside, and dug a little deeper.

Some of these footballers have played in the Champions League and the World Cup, but find themselves in the MLS. Here are nine names you won’t quite believe.

Marco Reus

Reus is well aware of the scepticism surrounding his move from Borussia Dortmund to LA Galaxy last year, particularly from those back in Germany, where MLS is not highly regarded.

“To be honest, MLS is not a popular league in Germany,” Reus admitted. “Of course, when players arrive here like Messi, for example, then they pay more attention to that.

“I think this league is great. They have a lot of good players in this league, especially in LA. I see a lot of good games so far.”

With a goal and assist on his debut, Reus announced himself in the best possible manner. He has a total of 21 goal contributions in 39 Galaxy appearances to date.

Hugo Lloris

Lloris left Tottenham after 11 years and almost 450 appearances in December 2023, having fallen behind Guglielmo Vicario in the pecking order following the appointment of Ange Postecoglou.

“I needed something new, something different,” the former France captain explained on his decision to join MLS outfit LAFC.

“I had great moments in Europe. I was just looking for different opportunities, to experience a new continent, to experience a new life as well.”

The veteran goalkeeper has been nearly ever-present between the sticks for LAFC in both of the last two MLS campaigns.

Wilfried Zaha

Admit it. You weren’t entirely sure where Zaha was, were you?

The winger won a Turkish Super Lig title with Galatasaray in 2023-24, but he never quite settled in Istanbul and was loaned out to Lyon for the following season.

But he failed to kick on and barely played any football in the first half of the season. Seventy-one minutes in Ligue 1, to be precise.

Galatasaray and Lyon terminated the loan agreement, opening up the pathway for the former Crystal Palace stalwart to move elsewhere.

The 32-year-old remains on Galatasaray’s books, but he has spent the entire 2025 MLS campaign with Charlotte FC.

Once the golden boy at Selhurst Park, Zaha has 16 goal contributions in 35 Charlotte appearances. We think it’s likely he will extend his stay in America.

Christian Benteke

After some impressive years with Aston Villa, Benteke joined Liverpool for a fee of £32.5million back in 2015.

Across all competitions, he scored 10 goals during his solitary season at Anfield, before he was sold to Crystal Palace for £32million.

The Belgian striker stuck around in the Premier League for six more years, before switching to D.C. United at the end of his Palace contract.

Impressively, he managed to beat Lionel Messi to the MLS Golden Boot in 2024, scoring 23 goals in 30 matches.

“It was a good season for me personally,” Benteke said via GOAL when reflecting on last season.

“I’m really proud about myself. Sometimes when you don’t score goals, your team doesn’t win, it’s so easy to give up.

“But I stick to it and I feel it’s the work that I’ve been putting in and this is a way to celebrate a good season.” We’re pleased for him.

Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting

Choupo-Moting enjoyed quite the career glow-up after leaving Stoke City in 2018.

During the next six years, the Cameroonian managed to get his hands on 10 trophies after enjoying stints with PSG and Bayern Munich.

While the veteran was often used in a backup role, he usually had the knack for popping up with a decisive goal or two.

He is now out in America and starring for New York Red Bulls, scoring 18 goals in 38 appearances during the 2025 campaign. Fair play.

Hirving Lozano

After enjoying stints in Europe with Napoli and PSV, Lozano made the switch to MLS back in January to join San Diego FC.

The 30-year-old struggled with injuries during his final season at PSV, but he’s scored 10 goals in 32 games this season as the forward fine-tunes himself for Mexico’s World Cup campaign next summer.

Emil Forsberg

After spending eight years with RB Leipzig, Forsberg made the switch to New York Red Bulls in 2024 and became their highest-paid player in the process.

The 34-year-old had a decent debut season in MLS, producing 14 goal contributions in 23 appearances, and has followed that up with 13 goals in the 2025 campaign.

Despite Sweden’s increasing embarrassment of riches, Forsberg is still a member of the national squad and will be hoping to lead a revival under Graham Potter.

Rob Holding

After racking up over 160 appearances for Arsenal, Holding said his goodbyes in 2024 and joined fellow London club Crystal Palace.

But the defender failed to make even the faintest of impressions on the Selhurst Park faithful and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Sheffield United

Holding signed for Colorado Rapids over the summer and will stay in the MLS until the end of 2026. Fingers crossed for a South Park cameo.

Maya Yoshida

Surely the best footballer ever to emerge from Nagasaki, Yoshida taught Virgil van Dijk everything he knows during their time at Southampton. Probably.

The former Japan captain is marshalling the backline at LA Galaxy now.

If a generational centre-back emerges from the Galaxy’s academy in the coming years, you know who’s responsible.