MLS Multiplex lists the Worst Designated Players throughout MLS history.
MLS has a salary cap, much of which is usually invested in what the leagues calls designated players or “DPs”. These DPs are the highest paid players on their respective teams and usually the difference makers in games. They are expected to also be the best players on their teams.
This leads to players like Sebastian Giovinco, Robbie Keane and Nicolas Lodeiro being able to put teams on their back and by themselves change the course of their respective seasons. But for every Giovinco, there is always going to be a player that clubs spend tons of money on that don’t play the way they should.
Here is a list of some of the worst designated players in MLS history:
Rafa Marquez- New York Red Bulls
Rafa Marquez played for the New York Red Bulls from 2010-2012. He was purchased from Barcelona after playing for the Spanish giants for seven seasons, scoring 9 goals in 163 appearances in a holding midfielder role. He scored his only goal for the Red Bulls against Toronto FC.
Marquez was infamous for, as many journalists have said it, “being a major a-hole.” He pulled many terrible stunts, such as a 2011 red card against the LA Galaxy for chucking a ball at Landon Donovan and then pretending to get hit in the face.
He also didn’t recognize the team around him. He said himself after an especially terrible game on his end that “I think this is a team game and unfortunately there isn’t an equal level between my teammates and I.” It is ridiculous to me how he made over $15 million in salary for his time in New York.