MLS’s 30th season began on Saturday a few miles from the end of the league’s 29th campaign. The Los Angeles Galaxy won the shadow of the MLS Cup A two months ago, but rival LAFC will lift the curtains in 2025 when hosting the Minnesota United on Saturday afternoon.
It marks the beginning of a season where there will be a lot of new influence signings (the league’s upcoming transfer fee record has been broken twice), a new club (Welcome, San Diego Football Club!), and some USMNTs arrive , seeking the path to Mauricio Pochettino’s depth map (Hello, Brandon Vázquez and Luca de la Torre), and Lionel Messi and everything he did in the process (in cold temperatures or otherwise).
A new season is an excuse to make our annually determined forecast, so we conducted our survey sportsTheir football writers Paul Tenorio, Pablo Maurer, Jeff Rueter and Felipe Cardenas paired the Insights on many topics. Who will win everything? Who will be bad? Who would be surprised? Who deserves your attention?
We’ve covered everything below to take you to Los Angeles for the first time
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Prediction: MLS Cup champion, shield champion for supporters (best record), wooden spoon recipient (worst record)
Tenorio:
- MLS Cup – Miami International Cup: Messi and Co. prioritized the CONCACAF Champions League and the playoffs and won one of these two trophys.
- Supporters’ Shield – FC Cincinnati: Losing Lucho Acosta is injured, but with Evander and Kévin Denkey should eliminate the already strong team this season.
- Wooden Spoon – Dynamo Houston: Toronto looks tough, it seems like it’s a torn year, but I really don’t like the sales Dynamo has created during the offseason and the alternative value of players will come back. Houston will have trouble if they don’t add talent.
Cardenas:
- MLS Cup – Miami International Cup: Messi no have Win the MLS Cup. His legacy as (arguably) the best player has been consolidated. But I find it hard to believe that he won’t win at least one in the US game
- Supporters’ Shield – FC Cincinnati: Miami will be better than a record-breaking season in 2024. They can repeat as supporters’ shield champions. I think Cincinnati took this game (in a tense game).
- Wooden Spoon – Nashville SC: It feels like Nashville wandering in MLS irrelevant. They don’t have stars, you need those players in this league. BJ Callaghan’s first full season will be a difficult time resetting the club’s strategy.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez should celebrate a lot in the MLS. (Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)
Moller:
- MLS Cup – Miami International Cup: Ambition has brought you a long way to MLS, and Miami has expired at this time. If they stay healthy, Messi & Co. Their first meaningful trophy will eventually be lifted (apologize to the League Cup).
- Supporters’ Shield – FC Cincinnati: Acosta’s shock shift stole the headlines, but overall, the team will only get better. High attention and fierce competition, they will win the shield this year.
- Wooden Spoon – San Diego Football Club: Yes, there are a few splash signatures, but there are also many unresolved issues. MLS has several outliers, but at the end of the day, life is hard as an expansion team. You can stick it in the locker room as you like, Mikey Varas. At this point, “they don’t believe us” is the MLS tradition.
Rut:
- MLS Cup – Seattle Audio: MLS’s most complete lineup is built to compete on all fronts (well, except for the Club World Cup). They piece together unparalleled depth and MLS and put together in the best player lineup.
- Supporters’ Shield – FC Cincinnati: Proficiently navigate Acosta subgraphs that may be mission-critical and get better along the way. They also don’t need to worry about the help of the club’s World Cup.
- Wooden Spoon – Toronto Football Club:Lorenzo Insigne is already the worst signature in MLS history because of his salary, lack of influence, and I don’t see any room for a belated rebound. A rudderless franchise that takes time to dig out from the mistakes of Bill Manning and John Herdman – but hiring Robin Fraser is to the right A step in the direction.
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Who will be the most splashy summer signing?
Tenorio:Antoine Griezmann to LAFC. There are rumors that this is a while and I don’t think LAFC keeps DP empty for this.
Cardenas: I agree with Paul. Griezmann to MLS is inevitable. He is an avid fan of the NFL (with the Spanish NFL podcast), and he recently headed to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. He seems to live in the United States, especially in Los Angeles, do you ask? The Belgians seem destined to face Saudi Arabia.
Will Antoine Griezmann go to MLS this summer? (Florencia tan Jun/Getty Images)
Moller: Gio Reyna to… anywhere outside the Chicago Fire. This may feel far-fetched, but Reiner only takes a few minutes. Dortmund’s asking price may have been significantly lowered over the past year, making him the MLS side of the spectrum. Whether Reiner wants to return to the United States is a completely different story. Few people blame him.
Rut: If Norwich City fails to get promotion, Josh Sargent may get similar to Atlanta payments to Middlesbrough Emmanuel Latte lath (over $20 million) of fees. St. Louis City expressed interest and could strengthen his case for the 2026 World Cup throughout the summer (if staying healthy).
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Messi’s bravest season
Rut: Messi helped Miami to reach the conference finals, and a defeat made Miami offer a more profitable solution that eventually brought him back for another year.
Moller: Messi will do doubles, win the league’s MVP and its golden boots. Not that the famous Argentinian needs any extra motivation, but his ownership stake in Miami, which may be his last year in the league, could give him the extra push he needs. I know.
Cardenas: Messi’s figures in 2025 will not be spectacular. He will slow down a little, and Miami will carefully monitor his fitness and enter the club World Cup. He still has an MVP caliber season, but he won’t be the champion of the award again.
Tenorio: I can see Messi announce a six-month contract extension, allowing him to open a new stadium, passing him through the end of the 2026 World Cup…that’s all.
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USMNT wildcard preference for unpredictable
The biggest surprise team (for better or worse)
Moller: The San Jose earthquake of the 2024 Wooden Spoon Winner will be the playoffs in 2025. Never underestimate the strength of American men’s football’s greatest coach fighting for his legacy (plus Chicho Arango doesn’t hurt either). The earthquake won’t catch the league, but they will do enough to make it to the playoffs.
Tenorio: My second Pablo prediction. Never bet on the Bruce Arena. I learned this lesson when he went to New England.
Luciano Acosta brings his goals and assists to Dallas 2025 (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Rut: With Eric Quill’s contact line and Acosta trot, FC Dallas has been in the process of Mauro Díaz and Fabric Ka Fabián Castillo rose to fifth place in the Western Conference during his most interesting season in his heyday.
Cardenas: In Wilfried Nancy’s final season at MLS, the Columbus crew will miss the playoffs. Cucho Hernández’s absence will return to the crew’s offense, and by the summer, Nancy will go abroad to start the next chapter of his coaching career.
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Concacaf’s movement legality in the eyes of cold Greenland
Top/below: 0.5 MLS Club Leaves the Club World Cup Group Stage
(Inter Miami joins Porto, Palmeiras and Al Ahly; Seattle’s Voice is grouped with Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid and Botafogo)
Rut: Below, but I’m sure both clubs will thank them for the extra allocation of funds they tried.
Moller: Below. MLS has always been eager to prove that it is the “coalition of choice”, but there is still a long way to go. Either way it will be fun to watch.
Tenorio: Yes, I want to do this, too.
Cardenas: Miami may scratch, but if the sounder is removed from Group B, the U.S. could win the 2026 World Cup. And we know that didn’t happen. Below.
(Top photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
