All-Time MLS Top Scorers

It has taken a long while to establish soccer as a bonafide sport in North America, but Major League Soccer has undoubtedly achieved that feat.

The all-time MLS top scorers list features a who’s who of US soccer.

The first season in 1996 had just 10 teams, and subsequent financial struggles threatened to kill the league before it got off the ground.

However, the MLS has proved the doubters wrong to become a genuine fifth ‘major sports league’ in the United States and Canada.

The introduction of the Designated Player Rule in 2007 changed the landscape in the MLS, allowing clubs to add world-class stars to their squads.

Players like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney have helped to raise the profile of the league, creating a platform for the competition to flourish in the future.

Although the MLS has only been around for just over two decades, it has quickly built up a reputation for being hugely entertaining.

Goals are the name of the game in any football league, and the MLS has been blessed with a plethora of forwards who know where the back of the net is.

Read on as we reveal who are the current all-time top 10 goalscorers in the MLS (as of July 2024).

All-Time MLS Top Scorers – Top 10

1. Chris Wondolowski: 171 goals in 423 appearances

2. Kei Kamara: 146 goals in 431 appearances

3. Landon Donovan: 145 goals in 340 appearances

4. Jeff Cunningham: 134 goals in 365 appearances

5. Jaime Moreno: 133 goals in 340 appearances

6. Bradley Wright-Phillips: 117 goals in 234 appearances

7. Ante Razov: 114 goals in 262 appearances

8. Josef Martinez: 108 goals in 173 appearances

9. Jason Kreis: 108 goals in 305 appearances

10. Dwayne de Rosario: 104 goals in 342 appearances

MLS Top Scorer – Profile

CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI – (San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo)

Wondolowski was first drafted to the MLS in 2005 and has since become the record scorer in the competition.

He twice won the MLS Cup with Houston in 2006 and 2007 and is the only player to have scored 10 or more goals in 10 consecutive seasons.

Wondolowski’s four-goal haul for San Jose against Chicago Fire in 2019 broke Landon Donovan’s record and cemented his status as a true MLS legend.

The 38-year-old announced his retirement from Major League Soccer following the Quakes’ regular-season finale in November 2021.

MLS Top Scorers – Best of the Rest

The top three in the MLS all-time scorers list are unlikely to be overhauled for some time, with most of the chasing pack either retired or approaching the end of their careers.

Josef Martinez is the player most likely to force his way into the upper echelons of the list, having averaged almost a goal per game for Atlanta United since joining them in 2017.

The Venezuelan forward struggled to make an impact in European football but has demonstrated his talent in the MLS over the past few seasons.