Some of the biggest stars in the world’s game have played in MLS, and ESPN analyst Herculez Gomez has narrowed down his list to a top five.
Gomez, as part of an Ahora o Nunca segment with Mauricio Pedroza, recently ranked them No. 1 through No. 5. The metric for evaluation was star power, which takes into account their global reach, business impact and success on the field.
Unsurprisingly, Inter Miami CF owner and president of soccer operations David Beckham took home the top spot. Gomez, a former US men’s national team forward, cited Beckham’s decision to join the LA Galaxy in 2007.
“When you talk about the franchise player today, the Designated Player, this starts because of David Beckham,” Gomez said. “The reason you have $300 million franchises today is because David Beckham, back in 2007, decided to come from Real Madrid to the LA Galaxy.”
Gomez’s list also included LA Galaxy striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, even though the El Tri great has only played in two MLS games. Others are former Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former Orlando City midfielder Ricardo Kaka and Montreal Impact manager Thierry Henry, who played for the New York Red Bulls.
For more from Gomez and Pedroza, be sure to check out the above clip.
Herculez Gomez’s top 5 biggest MLS stars
- David Beckham
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez
- Ricardo Kaka
- Thierry Henry
