GOAL takes a look at the 10 most successful Designated Player signings over the past five years in Major League Soccer
Tottenham Hotspur and South Korea superstar Heung-Min Son is reportedly set to become Major League Soccer’s next blockbuster Designated Player, joining Los Angeles FC on a multi-year deal. He’ll be the latest face of the franchise, following Carlos Vela, Gareth Bale, Olivier Giroud, and current standout Denis Bouanga. Time will tell if the 33-year-old's brilliance translates to MLS – a league where big-name signings have both flourished and flopped since the introduction of the DP rule.
Dubbed the “Beckham Rule,” the DP mechanism was originally created so the LA Galaxy could sign the England icon. It’s since become a cornerstone of MLS roster building, allowing stars like Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, David Villa, Ricardo Kaká, and Luis Nani to join the league.
Not all DPs have hit, but those who have? They’ve helped transform the league.
Lionel Messi is the most historic DP signing to date, but the past five years have seen multiple success stories that elevated players, clubs, and coaches alike.
From the Argentine legend to Bouanga, former Columbus Crew ace Cucho Hernández, and the mercurial Emanuel Reynoso, GOAL highlights the 10 most successful DP signings since 2020.
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10Emanuel Reynoso, Minnesota United
This inclusion might raise an eyebrow as Reynoso is not a household in MLS, but his contributions on the pitch will be long remembered.
He was an enigma on the pitch for Minnesota United while at the club – a proper magician on the pitch who made something happen that made fans go "how the h*ll did he do that?!"
The Argentine was the first real star to don the crest after joining the club as a DP in the fall of 2020. In his debut campaign, Reynoso bagged seven assists in 13 matches played, while the club went unbeaten in 12 of them with him on the pitch; he changed the trajectory of the Western Conference side to make them modern-day contenders.
During the 2020 MLS playoffs, he recorded six assists in two matches, making league history by doing so, while either scoring or assisting in ALL eight goals Minnesota scored during that postseason run. And in 2022, he led the club in goals scored, which led to his first All-Star nomination. Yet, there were also challenges for the winger.
In 2023, he missed five months of the season due to "personal issues" in Argentina, after failure to report to preseason training camp which resulted in a league suspension. He was cleared to play in May of that year by the league. In 2024, he left during the March international break to attend a Green Card appointment in Argentina, but never attended it. He remained in Argentina for seven weeks and did not return to play for the club. He was transferred to Tijuana in Liga MX in May, 2024.
It was a shambolic ending to a truly magical run from a talented player, who, for a glimpse, looked like a superstar in the making. A proper MLS footballer – for multiple reasons.
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9Facundo Torres, Orlando City
Facu Torres was nothing short of exceptional during his three-year stint with Orlando from 2022 to 2024. Across 95 regular-season games, he scored 37 goals and recorded six assists, putting the Eastern Conference side in contention each season for silverware.
In his debut campaign, he led the to a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, their first piece of silverware since their founding as a club in 2015. In the final, a 3-0 win over Sacramento Republic FC, he scored a brace, leading them to victory in the match.
In 2024, his attacking heroics earned him a new contract in Southern Florida, and he responded with a career-year of 14 goals and six assists in 32 regular-season appearances, followed by two additional goals in the playoffs that saw Orlando make the Eastern Conference finals.
At the end of the 2024 campaign, he was transferred to Brazilian powerhouse Palmeiras for a club-record fee of $14 million.
Torres left Orlando, leaving his mark on the club and the league. During his time in MLS, he became an established Uruguay international, while growing into the boots that he now proudly wears for both club and country at one of the world's biggest clubs.
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8Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy
Puig faced heavy criticism for leaving Barcelona to join the Galaxy in MLS – criticism that, to be fair, wasn’t entirely unwarranted, as many fans and observers in Spain struggled to understand the move.
However, it all worked out to the benefit of the Spaniard and MLS.
Puig joined LA in 2022, and although things began slowly, his 2024 campaign was nothing short of magnificent. The Galaxy's rebuild began with the acquisition of Puig, and over 18 months, they assembled a roster around him, which led to their first MLS Cup triumph in a decade last season. During the regular-season campaign, Puig scored 13 goals and recorded 15 assists as a central midfielder, putting forth a historic campaign from the middle of the park.
During the postseason run, Puig scored an additional four goals and recorded three more assists as he booked their spot in the final. However, in their Conference final victory over the Seattle Sounders, he suffered a torn ACL that has him sidelined for the 2025 campaign.
For a player who broke out as a teenager with Barcelona in Spain, but struggled for senior team minutes, he made a career-changing choice to come to MLS, but it's all paid off, and he's found a home stateside. Perhaps, he's also opened a door for similar young players to follow in his footsteps.
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7Thiago Almada, Atlanta United
Almada became a World Champion with Atlanta United, representing Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and became the first active MLS player to do so. He joined the in 2022 as a Young DP and earned the title of Newcomer of the Year. He followed it with being named Young Player of the Year in 2023, earning Best XI honors, being named an MLS All-Star, and finishing third in league MVP voting.
He led the league in assists in 2023 with 19, and capped it off with 11 goals across all competitions while becoming the youngest player in league history to reach double digits in both goals and assists during the regular season campaign.
After making 77 appearances for Atlanta, he earned a move to Botafogo, where he was subsequently loaned to Olympique Lyon in France. He earned a transfer to Atletico Madrid this summer, and will now begin work under legendary Argentine manager Diego Simeone in Spain.