MLS: Top 5 central midfielders in the league right now

1. Cristian Roldan

Taking the top spot on our list of the best current central midfielders in Major League Soccer is the only member of our top five who has been around for longer than two seasons, the only member to have won the MLS Cup, and the only member who has also had international glory. It is, of course, Seattle Sounders and USMNT midfielder Cristian Roldan.

Before making it to MLS, Roldan spent two years at the University of Washington where he played 41 times for the Huskies over two years. He then chose to forego the remainder of his college career, signing a Generation Adidas contract ahead of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.

MLS Career & Honours:

• Seattle Sounders (2015-)

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• MLS Cup – 2016, 2019
• CONCACAF Gold Cup – 2017

The midfielder was selected by Seattle Sounders with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and has since gone on to player over 180 times for the franchise in all competitions, including more than 150 MLS regular-season appearances for the Rave Green.

After a single game with Sounders 2 in the USL, Roldan made his full debut for the first team in March, four games into his first season in the league. The American featured in 22 league matches during his first campaign but has since gone on to start a minimum of 28 regular-season games over each of the next four terms in MLS.

The 2016 term saw Roldan score his first professional goal, with the midfielder scoring four ties during the regular season, along with contributing three assists. He then played all 570 minutes of the Sounders’ post-season run, as they went all the way to MLS Cup glory for the first time in their history.

He then scored a joint-career-high six goals in 2017, a feat he would also achieve in 2019, whilst posting a career-high nine assists in the year in between, the 2018 term. The 2019 term saw Seattle lift the MLS Cup for s second time in four seasons, with Roldan being a key player once again, only missing time throughout the campaign for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which he had won with the United States two years previous.

Roldan started the 2020 season in fine form, recording two assists in the opening two matches of the campaign, prior to the suspension of the league for the COVID-19 pandemic. The American will continue to be a key piece of the puzzle for both club and country over the next decade, and he is the deserved No.1 on our list of the best central midfielders in Major League Soccer.