The 10 Players With the Most Assists in MLS History, Ranked

Most Assists in MLS History: Major League Soccer has been home to some of football’s most creative and gifted playmakers. Since the league kicked off in 1996, certain players have made the art of the assist their signature. Not just scorers, but creators. Men who saw the pass before anyone else did. From homegrown American legends to international stars who crossed the Atlantic, MLS has always attracted players with vision and flair.

Most Assists in MLS History

Here are the ten players who have delivered more game-changing passes than anyone else in MLS history.

10. Nicolás Lodeiro 🇺🇾

• Years: 2016 to 2025
• Assists: 92
• Appearances: 241
• Ratio: 0.38
• Club: Seattle Sounders

Nicolás Lodeiro spent nine seasons at Seattle Sounders and became the creative heartbeat of every MLS Cup run the club made. He arrived in 2016 and immediately inspired Seattle to a first MLS Cup title. He won the MLS Cup again in 2019.

The Uruguayan playmaker combined vision, technical quality, and composure under pressure in a way few midfielders in MLS history have matched. His 92 assists from 241 appearances reflect consistent output across a decade of service.

9. Luciano Acosta 🇦🇷

• Years: 2016 to 2025
• Assists: 98
• Appearances: 272
• Ratio: 0.36
• Main Club: FC Cincinnati

Luciano Acosta is the most creative player of the modern MLS era. He was named MLS MVP in 2022 and finished runner-up twice. His 98 assists from 272 appearances show a player who almost never stopped creating.

He had stints at D.C. United before moving to FC Cincinnati, where he became the best player in the club’s short history. He led MLS in assists multiple times. Still only in his late twenties when he retired from the league, he could realistically have gone higher.

8. Sacha Kljestan 🇺🇸

• Years: 2006 to 2010, 2015 to 2022
• Assists: 99
• Appearances: 331
• Ratio: 0.30
• Main Club: New York Red Bulls

Sacha Kljestan scored 99 MLS assists, one short of the 100-mark. He spent his best years at New York Red Bulls, where he was the team’s passing engine and chief creator. He led MLS in assists in 2016 and 2017.

He left MLS for Anderlecht in between his two spells and returned a more complete player. His 99 assists place him eighth on the all-time list, just one ahead of Luciano Acosta.

7. Marco Etcheverry 🇧🇴

• Years: 1996 to 2003
• Assists: 101
• Appearances: 191
• Ratio: 0.53
• Club: D.C. United

Marco Etcheverry has the second best ratio on this list at 0.53. He was the most technically gifted player in early MLS history. The Bolivian playmaker scored 101 assists in just 191 appearances for D.C. United and never played for any other MLS club.

He helped D.C. United win three MLS Cups and two U.S. Open Cups in the league’s formative years. He was named MLS MVP in 1998. His ratio of 0.53 remains the benchmark for creativity in MLS history.

6. Jaime Moreno 🇧🇴

• Years: 1996 to 2010
• Assists: 102
• Appearances: 340
• Ratio: 0.30
• Main Club: D.C. United

Jaime Moreno is one of only two players on this list to feature in both the all-time goals and assists top tens. He scored 133 MLS goals and added 102 assists across 14 seasons. He was an all-round forward who contributed both ways throughout his D.C. United career.

He is the greatest player in D.C. United’s history, plain and simple. He combined with Marco Etcheverry to give D.C. United the most potent attack in early MLS history.

5. Preki 🇾🇺🇺🇸

• Years: 1996 to 2005
• Assists: 112
• Appearances: 242
• Ratio: 0.46
• Main Club: Sporting Kansas City

Preki was one of the most dangerous wingers of the MLS founding era. He scored 112 assists across 242 appearances with a ratio of 0.46. He won the MLS MVP award twice, in 1997 and 2003, with Sporting Kansas City. He was Yugoslav-born but became a naturalised American citizen.

A direct, unpredictable winger with outstanding delivery and a lethal shot from distance, he scored 71 goals alongside his 112 assists. Very few MLS players in the league’s history have been as two-footed and dangerous in wide areas.

4. Carlos Valderrama 🇨🇴

• Years: 1996 to 2002
• Assists: 114
• Appearances: 175
• Ratio: 0.65
• Clubs: Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion, Colorado Rapids

The best ratio on this list belongs to Carlos Valderrama. 114 assists in just 175 appearances — 0.65 per game. He arrived in MLS at 34 years old and still became the most creative player in the league. He was voted MLS MVP in 1996.

The Colombian legend with the unmistakable afro turned Tampa Bay Mutiny into one of the most entertaining sides in MLS history. He never scored more than 7 goals in an MLS season. He simply did not need to. He created more than enough for everyone else.

3. Brad Davis 🇺🇸

• Years: 2002 to 2016
• Assists: 123
• Appearances: 392
• Ratio: 0.31
• Main Club: Houston Dynamo

Brad Davis had the best left foot in MLS history. He scored 123 assists across 14 seasons, mostly at Houston Dynamo, where he spent the peak of his career. He was one of the finest set-piece deliverers the league has ever produced.

He won two MLS Cups with Houston in 2006 and 2007. Every season between 2005 and 2013 he registered double-digit assists. His 123 assist total places him third on the all-time list, a record built quietly and consistently across a single club for over a decade.

2. Steve Ralston 🇺🇸

• Years: 1996 to 2010
• Assists: 135
• Appearances: 378
• Ratio: 0.36
• Main Club: New England Revolution

Steve Ralston held the MLS all-time assist record for years. He spent 11 of his 15 MLS seasons at New England Revolution and became one of the most reliable wide midfielders in the competition’s history. He won the MLS MVP award in 1996 in his debut season.

He reached 135 assists before Landon Donovan eventually tied and then passed him in October 2014. His 135 assists across 378 appearances from a wide midfield position remain an extraordinary record of consistency over 15 seasons.

1. Landon Donovan 🇺🇸

• Years: 2001 to 2014, 2016
• Assists: 136
• Appearances: 340
• Ratio: 0.40
• Clubs: San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy

The record belongs to Landon Donovan and it is recognised by Guinness World Records. He broke Steve Ralston’s record in October 2014 with a chip assist against Toronto FC in the final weeks of his career. He finished with 136 — the most in MLS history.

He is also second on the all-time goals list with 145. No player in MLS history has combined goals and assists at his level. He won six MLS Cups, three MLS MVP awards and was the defining American footballer of his generation. The MLS MVP award has since been renamed the Landon Donovan MVP Award in his honour.