Major League Soccer has come a long way since its earliest days. In the 2024 season, and beyond, some of the world’s best strikers, not least of all Lionel Messi, are active in the North American league.
But talent and reputation are one thing, and goals and impressive stats are another. Fantasy soccer pros base their decisions on the latter.
In the 2024 season, 1552 goals were scored in the MLS. That means that on average, 3.15 goals were scored per game.
This is why today we are crunching the number on another season and looking at the very best forwards in the MLS, and seeing if Lionel Messi is, once again, the very best of all those around.
The 10 Best MLS Strikers in 2024
Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes)
You’ll know to start your fantasy soccer draft for next season with Cristian Espinoza if you want to rank up points! Espinoza managed 591 points in FootballCoin across the season and was the top striker in the MLS fantasy soccer.
But it wasn’t the goals that put him on this pedestal, but rather his ability to set up teammates. Espinoza managed 12 assists across the 2024 season and showcased a marvellously well-balanced game that improved San Jose Earthquakes throughout the campaign.
Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew)
Few other players have carved quite the same career in the MLS as Diego Rossi. Following a short stint in Turkyie with Fenerbahche, the Uruguayan returned to North America in 2024.
Columbus Crew was happy to sign Rossi, who scored 15 goals in his first season and provided seven assists. All of this was enough to rank him higher than other, even more famous strikers on this list.
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
No, Lionel Messi is not the top-rated fantasy soccer striker in 2024. But this doesn’t mean that the Argentinian hasn’t entertained or provided some mighty impressive stats.
Messi scored 20 goals in the regular season, the joint-ranked second highest ranked striker. His shots, assists and dribbles still place Messi in the top 1% of strikers across similar leagues. The striker is still not just Inter Miami’s most famous player but their best player.
Cucho Hernandez (Columbus Crew)
Christian Benteke (DC United)
Finally, opting to leave the Premier League has been the best choice that Belgium striker Christian Benteke could have made. In MLS, he remarkably found his goalscoring boots once more despite numerous pundits believing the time was up for the striker.
Benteke was, in fact, the top scorer in the regular season. Fans of DC United have every reason to be excited for next season finally.
Luis Suarez (Inter Miami FC)
Luis Suarez will be congratulating himself for taking the opportunity to be reunited with Lionel Messi and his former Barcelona teammates even though Inter Miami failed to deliver the trophy outright.
More than anything, Suarez proved he is still a soccer performer. His 20 goals across the regular season were delivered with a similar flair, making Suarez one of his generation’s best strikers.
Dejan Loveljic (LA Glaxay)
Other strikers may have scored more goals, but few scored more important ones. Dejan Loveljic truly came alive in the playoffs and delivered the winning goal in the MLS Cup final.
It was enough to secure victory over NY Red Bulls and to turn the Loveljic into possibly the most important player in the league.
Cristian Arango (San Jose Earthquakes)
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders)
