The 10 Biggest Stories to Watch During the 2025 MLS Season

Contrary to what every fiber of my being is telling me, 2024’s MLS Cup wasn’t just last week. It was, in fact, more than two months ago when the LA Galaxy reached the top of the MLS mountaintop for the first time in a decade.

Since the Galaxy topped the New York Red Bulls back in December, MLS teams have put together perhaps the wildest offseason in league history. Between the arrival of San Diego FC as MLS’s 30th club, Atlanta United’s record-breaking $22 million transfer for Emmanuel Latte Lath, and brand new intra-league trades involving MVP candidates Evander and Lucho Acosta, there’s been no shortage of action.

And now? Well, now it's time for the games to actually begin. 

What are the big stories you should be watching out for this year after Saturday’s kickoff? Let’s dig in.

Lionel Messi? Check. Luis Suarez? Check. Sergio Busquets? Check. Jordi Alba? Check.

After setting the MLS single-season points record with 74 last season and claiming the Supporters’ Shield (and, uh, also flopping in every single knockout competition they entered in 2024), the same superstars are back for another bite of the apple in Miami. Tata Martino, who departed his post as manager in November, has been replaced by a former teammate of the Barca Boys: Javier Mascherano.

Mascherano is yet to coach at club level and there’s been no shortage of chaos in Inter Miami’s front office this winter. But with the most top-end talent MLS has ever seen leading one of the deepest, if not the deepest, rosters MLS has ever seen, Inter Miami will be in contention for a host of trophies in 2025.

The clock is ticking for the former FC Barcelona stars. If they want this era of Inter Miami to be remembered for being successful on the field, this is the year to deliver.

While no other MLS team can boast Miami’s sheer mass of stars, there are a handful of other extremely well-constructed clubs from around the league who will push to beat them to trophies this season.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, FC Cincinnati landed former Portland Timbers’ star Evander as their replacement for Lucho Acosta. They also signed Kevin Denkey for a then-MLS record $16 million transfer fee from the Belgian top-flight to bolster their attack. With quality in every line of the field, Cincy aren’t to be doubted. That is, unless you doubt their ability to avoid personality clashes and off-field issues, in which case: go right ahead and doubt.

In the West, the Seattle Sounders put together a brilliant offseason. They held onto their best-in-class defense while adding Jesus Ferreira via a trade with FC Dallas—Ferreira will add quality to an attack that needed a catalyst last year. Keep an eye on LAFC, too. Even with a couple of attackers moving on, they’ve assembled a talented and deep squad to support Denis Bouanga and Olivier Giroud.

Oh, and Antoine Griezmann might show up this summer. More on that later.

Though they’re not tier-one contenders with Cucho Hernandez off to La Liga and Riqui Puig out with an ACL tear, the Columbus Crew and LA Galaxy deserve honorable mentions. Atlanta United and Charlotte FC shouldn’t be overlooked, either. 

Inter Miami won’t just walk away with the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, that’s for sure.

Two MLS teams will participate in this summer’s first-ever expanded Club World Cup. In Group A, Inter Miami was drawn alongside Palmeiras, FC Porto, and Al Ahly, while the Seattle Sounders were drawn alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and Botafogo in Group B.

Simply put, we’ve never seen MLS teams take on opponents of the caliber of PSG or Atletico Madrid or even Porto or Palmeiras. And yet, those are the kinds of matchups we’ll see when the Club World Cup comes to the United States in June.

Neither Miami nor Seattle should be expected to emerge from their groups and break into the knockout rounds. Still, seeing exactly how these teams stack up against high-quality opposition from other parts of the world will be must-see stuff for MLS fans.

Among other things this offseason, Atlanta United…

• Named Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson as their new chief soccer officer
• Hired former New York City MLS Cup winning manager Ronny Deila as their new manager
• Broke the MLS transfer record by signing Emmanuel Latte Lath in a $22 million deal from Middlesbrough
• Brought club legend Miguel Almiron back from Newcastle

How’s that for a winter’s worth of work? 

Ever since he joined Atlanta United to become their president and CEO near the end of 2022, Garth Lagerwey has been working to reshape the club in hopes of returning them to their winning ways. Adding a trio of proven, successful MLS commodities—and the most expensive MLS player ever—is a pretty darn good way to go.

Atlanta United, MLS Cup winners in 2018, look to be trending back towards that peak. Let’s see just how good they really are this year.

Losing superstar Riqui Puig to an ACL tear in last year’s Western Conference final—though not before he played the game-winning assist while still running around on that injured leg—was a huge blow to the LA Galaxy’s 2025 outlook. Having to trade star striker Dejan Joveljic and revamp the midfield due to salary cap constraints hurts, too. 

But just because the roster looks a little different this year doesn’t mean the Galaxy are anything close to hopeless. In fact, they’ve still got one of the best-looking squads in MLS thanks to Will Kuntz’s work in the front office.

Gabriel Pec set MLS on fire last year after arriving from Brazil and earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Joseph Paintsil became one of the most fearsome left wingers in the league in his first season. Marco Reus signed in the summer and should be far fresher heading into this year than he was to close out last year. The new midfield and attacking reinforcements look promising. Plus, Emiro Garces just might be the best center back in MLS.

Repeating won’t be easy, but counting out the Galaxy would be foolish.

Let’s be honest: we all love something new, shiny, and freshly unwrapped. In 2025, San Diego FC are exactly that.

Led by Chucky Lozano, former Anderlecht star Anders Dreyer, and U.S. men’s national team and hometown kid Luca de la Torre, San Diego FC have assembled a fascinating squad for their expansion campaign. Front office chief Tyler Heaps hasn’t been shy about wanting to get that squad playing fun, aesthetically pleasing, possession-heavy soccer.

“We'll be very brave and we want players that can play football,” Heaps told Backheeled.com earlier this offseason. “The athleticism and all that is still important to us because that is modern day, but we need players that have the capacity to be able to play in tight spaces, to be able to think and read the game…we want to avoid duels at all costs. So that's where you won't see us play long out of a goal kick because that's a 50/50 ball.”

Don’t be surprised to see San Diego score a bunch of goals this year. Don’t be surprised to see them concede a bunch, too, thanks to both their buildup-focused approach and to their lack of elite defensive talent.

From the moment the Crew fell to the New York Red Bulls in the first round of last year’s playoffs, concerns started to mount: would that be it for Columbus’ Cucho Hernandez era?

With days left in the transfer window for Europe’s biggest leagues, it looked like Cucho was going to stay in Columbus after all. But then La Liga’s Real Betis came in with an eight-figure offer, lured Cucho away, and shifted the outlook back to the one that prevailed following the Crew’s playoff defeat last year. Columbus’ Cucho era is no more.

Still, with Wilfried Nancy (who is, for my money, the best coach MLS has ever seen) conducting from the sidelines and some reports connecting the Crew to Palmeiras forward Jose Manuel Lopez, Columbus may not be down for long. However, finding anyone who can replace Cucho’s 29 goal contributions from the 2024 regular season is basically impossible. Plus, what happens if a smart European club tempts Nancy away this summer?

The Crew are balancing on a tightrope this season. They’ll be must-see TV, and not just because NancyBall is the most entertaining brand of soccer in the league.

With record amounts of cash flowing in and out of MLS this winter, there’s a long list of standout stars worth watching around the league in 2025.

We’ve already touched on Inter Miami’s stars, Cincinnati’s Evander, Atlanta’s reinforcements, and the best of the best in Los Angeles. Elsewhere, Charlotte FC added former Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha to their ranks and the Chicago Fire signed Ligue 1 title winner Jonathan Bamba as the first big piece of Gregg Berhalter’s tenure.

Down in Texas, Austin FC broke their club record transfer fee—twice!—to sign Brandon Vazquez and then Myrto Uzuni and FC Dallas traded for Lucho Acosta from Cincinnati.

MLS teams aren’t done making moves, either. The transfer window will remain open until April 23rd.

While some MLS teams will continue adding pieces in the current transfer window, others will wait until the summer window to take a crack at some of the game’s biggest stars once they’re finished with the European season.

LAFC, for example, have had long standing interest in Atletico Madrid and France star Antoine Griezmann. Last year, MLS insider Tom Bogert’s sources described the deal as a matter of when, not a matter of if. If LAFC managed to add Griezmann to their frontline of Denis Bouanga and Olivier Giroud? Watch out, Western Conference.

The Chicago Fire, for their part, could be in line to take a big swing this summer. They were in legitimate talks to sign Neymar from Saudi Arabia before the Brazilian ended up back at Santos. With one of the league’s most supportive owners in Joe Mansueto, it’s never a doubt of if the Fire are willing to make a splashy signing. It’s simply a matter of who that signing will be.

Plenty will change between now and the summer, but it’s worth keeping a close eye on how things progress in LA and Chicago.

With increasing investment in youth academies and the league’s U22 Initiative, identifying and developing young talent is a major area of focus for MLS. Sticking with that theme, several budding young stars could take a big step forward in their careers during the 2025 season. 

Diego Luna, 21, impressed with the USMNT in January camp and will have no shortage of playmaking opportunities for Real Salt Lake this year. Mexican international Obed Vargas, 19, is a cornerstone for the Seattle Sounders in midfield. 

The New England Revolution’s Peyton Miller, 17, is one of the best young left backs on this side of the Atlantic. LAFC’s David Martinez, 19, is a left-footed wizard in the attacking midfield line. CF Montreal’s Nathan Saliba, 21, is a beautifully well-rounded central midfielder who’s already broken into the Canadian national team setup. Then, among others, there’s Cavan Sullivan, the 15-year-old sensation who became the youngest player in MLS history when he debuted last year. 

You won’t have to look far to find a talented young player with a bright future in MLS this season.