MLS All-Time Goals Leaders: The Complete Scoring Leaderboard

The MLS all-time goals leaderboard is a 30-year document of the league's evolution. The names at the top represent different eras, different playing styles, and fundamentally different versions of Major League Soccer. Some built their totals during the league's early years, when defensive organization was inconsistent and a clinical striker could feast. Others accumulated goals during the modern era, when improved coaching, better athletes, and higher tactical sophistication made every goal harder to score.

What follows is the complete top 20, with career statistics, context for each player's era, and analysis of which active players have a realistic chance of climbing the rankings during the 2026 season and beyond. For detailed individual player profiles and current season statistics, visit our players directory and stats hub.

The All-Time Top 20

| Rank | Player | Goals | Seasons | Apps | Goals/Season Avg | Primary Club(s) | |------|--------|-------|---------|------|------------------|-----------------| | 1 | Chris Wondolowski | 171 | 2005-2022 | 410 | 9.5 | San Jose Earthquakes | | 2 | Landon Donovan | 144 | 2001-2016 | 340 | 10.3 | LA Galaxy, San Jose | | 3 | Jeff Cunningham | 134 | 1998-2011 | 365 | 9.6 | Columbus, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas | | 4 | Jaime Moreno | 133 | 1996-2010 | 340 | 8.9 | D.C. United | | 5 | Kei Kamara | 130 | 2006-2023 | 404 | 7.2 | Multiple clubs | | 6 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | 118 | 2013-2021 | 248 | 13.1 | New York Red Bulls, LAFC, Columbus | | 7 | Dwayne De Rosario | 104 | 2001-2014 | 352 | 7.4 | Multiple clubs | | 8 | Carlos Vela | 102 | 2018-2024 | 185 | 14.6 | LAFC | | 9 | Edson Buddle | 100 | 2003-2015 | 277 | 7.7 | LA Galaxy, Colorado | | 10 | Ante Razov | 99 | 1996-2009 | 302 | 7.1 | Chicago Fire, LA Galaxy | | 11 | Taylor Twellman | 101 | 2002-2009 | 174 | 12.6 | New England Revolution | | 12 | Diego Valeri | 96 | 2013-2022 | 260 | 9.6 | Portland Timbers | | 13 | Josef Martinez | 95 | 2017-2024 | 192 | 11.9 | Atlanta United, Inter Miami | | 14 | Robbie Keane | 92 | 2011-2016 | 165 | 15.3 | LA Galaxy | | 15 | Jason Kreis | 91 | 1996-2007 | 305 | 7.6 | FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake | | 16 | Sebastian Giovinco | 83 | 2015-2019 | 142 | 16.6 | Toronto FC | | 17 | Raul Ruidiaz | 82 | 2018-2024 | 168 | 11.7 | Seattle Sounders | | 18 | Stern John | 82 | 1998-2002 | 117 | 16.4 | Columbus Crew | | 19 | Roy Lassiter | 82 | 1996-2001 | 155 | 13.7 | Tampa Bay, D.C. United, Miami | | 20 | Sebastien Le Toux | 80 | 2007-2016 | 275 | 8.0 | Philadelphia, Vancouver, others |

Stats through end of 2025 MLS season. Minor discrepancies may exist due to different accounting of playoff vs. regular season goals across sources. This table reflects regular season goals only.

The Big Three: Wondolowski, Donovan, and Cunningham

Chris Wondolowski -- 171 Goals

Chris Wondolowski's career is the most improbable story on this list. A fourth-round draft pick in 2005 out of Chico State -- not exactly a soccer powerhouse -- Wondolowski spent his first four MLS seasons as a fringe player, scoring a combined 8 goals. He did not become a regular starter until he was 27 years old.

Then he simply never stopped scoring.

Wondolowski's breakout came in 2010, when he scored 18 goals and won the MLS Golden Boot. He followed that with a 16-goal campaign in 2012 and a career-high 27 goals in 2012 (sharing the season with both the Earthquakes and a mid-season stretch that saw him score in multiple consecutive matches). From 2010 through 2019, Wondolowski scored in double digits every single season.

He broke Landon Donovan's all-time record of 144 goals on May 18, 2019, scoring four goals in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Fire. He retired in 2022 with 171 goals, a mark that stands as the benchmark for MLS longevity and consistency.

Wondolowski was never the most talented striker in MLS. He was not fast, did not possess exceptional technique, and rarely scored spectacular goals. What he had was an elite understanding of positioning, tireless movement in the box, and the durability to play 17 full seasons. He is the all-time leader because he showed up, stayed healthy, and finished the chances that fell to him for nearly two decades.

His career is entirely captured in the San Jose Earthquakes history, the club where he spent 16 of his 17 MLS seasons.

Landon Donovan -- 144 Goals

Landon Donovan held the all-time goals record from 2014 until Wondolowski surpassed him in 2019. But Donovan's legacy extends far beyond the scoring charts. He was the face of American soccer for over a decade -- the player most casual fans could name, the one who scored in World Cups and then came home to score in MLS.

Donovan's 144 goals came across stints with the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy, with loan periods at Bayer Leverkusen and Everton. His MLS goals-per-game ratio of 0.42 is better than Wondolowski's 0.42 (virtually identical), but Donovan also contributed 136 assists, giving him the best combined goals-and-assists total in league history at the time of his retirement.

What separated Donovan was his ability to perform in the biggest moments. He scored in MLS Cup finals, in international competitions, and in the 2010 World Cup's group stage against Algeria -- the most famous American soccer goal ever scored. He brought that big-game mentality back to MLS every season.

Donovan won six MLS Cups (five with the Galaxy, one with San Jose), making him the most decorated player in league history by championship count. His influence on MLS's growth during the 2000s and early 2010s is impossible to overstate.

Jeff Cunningham -- 134 Goals

Jeff Cunningham is the forgotten man of MLS scoring history. His 134 goals place him third all-time, but he never achieved the cultural recognition of Donovan or the longevity narrative of Wondolowski. Cunningham was a Jamaican international who played for six MLS clubs across 14 seasons, never settling long enough at one club to become its definitive icon.

His best individual season came in 2009 with FC Dallas, when he scored 17 goals at age 32. Cunningham was a classic poacher -- limited defensive contribution, inconsistent hold-up play, but lethal in front of goal. He scored 10+ goals in nine different seasons, a consistency record that only Wondolowski has matched.

The Era Factor: Comparing Goals Across MLS History

Comparing scorers across MLS eras requires context. The league's evolution has fundamentally changed what it means to score goals.

The Founding Era (1996-2004)

The early MLS was tactically unsophisticated by modern standards. Defensive lines were often poorly organized, pressing was inconsistent, and the athletic gap between the league's best strikers and its worst defenders was enormous. Players like Jaime Moreno, Jason Kreis, Ante Razov, and Roy Lassiter benefited from this environment.

This is not to diminish their accomplishments. Moreno, in particular, was a genuinely world-class finisher who chose to spend his entire career with D.C. United when he could have played in stronger leagues. His 133 goals and 102 assists make him one of the most complete attackers MLS has ever had.

But the goals-per-game ratios from this era must be understood in context. A 15-goal season in 2000 required a different level of performance than a 15-goal season in 2020.

The DP Era (2007-2017)

The Designated Player Rule brought a new caliber of striker to MLS. Robbie Keane, Thierry Henry, Sebastian Giovinco, David Villa, and Bradley Wright-Phillips all arrived with European pedigrees and elite finishing ability. Their goals-per-game ratios were significantly higher than the founding-era leaders.

Giovinco's 83 goals in 142 appearances (0.58 per game) represent perhaps the highest sustained scoring rate by any player with a meaningful sample size in MLS history. During his peak at Toronto FC in 2015-2018, he was the best player in MLS by a considerable margin -- a Designated Player who actually lived up to the designation.

Wright-Phillips' 118 goals in 248 appearances is remarkable because he was not a DP for most of his career. He arrived at the New York Red Bulls as a relative unknown after an underwhelming stint in England and became a scoring machine, winning two Golden Boots (2014 and 2016) with 27 and 24 goals respectively.

The Modern Era (2018-Present)

The current MLS is the most tactically demanding version of the league. High pressing, sophisticated buildup play, and improved defensive coaching have made goals harder to come by for pure poachers. The top scorers of the modern era tend to be complete forwards who contribute to buildup play and pressing while still finishing at elite rates.

Carlos Vela's 34-goal season in 2019 for LAFC set the single-season record and represented a peak that no one has seriously threatened since. Josef Martinez's 31-goal season in 2018 for Atlanta United was the record before Vela broke it -- both achieved in an era when defensive standards were far higher than in MLS's early years. See our single-season records page for the full breakdown.

Active Players to Watch in 2026

Several active players have realistic paths to climbing the all-time leaderboard during the 2026 season. Here are the names to track:

Players Within Striking Distance

The all-time leaderboard is largely populated by retired players, but several active scorers continue to add to their totals. Any forward in the 50-70 goal range who maintains MLS employment through 2026-2028 has a chance to crack the top 20.

The key variable is durability. MLS's schedule -- 34 regular season matches plus potential playoff games and Leagues Cup fixtures -- demands physical resilience that most high-volume scorers cannot maintain past age 32-33. The players who climb the all-time charts tend to be either exceptionally durable (Wondolowski, Kamara) or exceptionally efficient (Giovinco, Keane).

Track current goal-scoring form on our stats page and individual player profiles in our players directory.

Goals Per Game: The Efficiency Leaderboard

Raw goal totals favor longevity. Goals per game favors peak performers. Here's how the top 20 looks when sorted by efficiency (minimum 100 career goals):

| Player | Goals | Apps | Goals/Game | |--------|-------|------|------------| | Sebastian Giovinco | 83 | 142 | 0.58 | | Carlos Vela | 102 | 185 | 0.55 | | Robbie Keane | 92 | 165 | 0.56 | | Bradley Wright-Phillips | 118 | 248 | 0.48 | | Josef Martinez | 95 | 192 | 0.49 | | Taylor Twellman | 101 | 174 | 0.58 | | Chris Wondolowski | 171 | 410 | 0.42 | | Landon Donovan | 144 | 340 | 0.42 |

Taylor Twellman's career was cut short by post-concussion syndrome in 2009, and his efficiency numbers suggest he would have challenged for the all-time record had he been able to play a full career. His 101 goals in 174 appearances is an extraordinary rate that speaks to both his aerial dominance and the New England Revolution's reliance on him as their primary goal threat.

The Goal-Scoring Evolution: What the Numbers Tell Us

Expansion Diluted, Then Concentrated

Each wave of expansion briefly increases goal-scoring opportunities as new teams work through defensive growing pains. But this effect reverses quickly. Within 2-3 seasons, expansion clubs typically develop defensive structures that bring their goals-against numbers in line with the league average.

The Striker Role Has Changed

The top of the all-time chart is dominated by traditional center forwards -- players whose primary job was to score goals. The modern MLS increasingly values forwards who press, create, and contribute defensively. This makes accumulating pure goal totals harder, even for elite finishers. The 20+ goal seasons that were relatively common among top strikers in the DP era have become rarer.

Homegrown Development Is Changing the Pipeline

MLS academies are now producing strikers who enter the league at 17-18 rather than 22-25. In theory, this extends the runway for accumulating career goals. In practice, the best young American and Canadian strikers are often sold to European clubs before they can accumulate MLS totals -- a tension between the league's development model and its historical record books.

Where the Record Goes From Here

Wondolowski's 171 goals is a durable record precisely because it was built on durability. Breaking it requires a player to score at a high level for 15+ seasons in MLS, which means either staying in the league for their entire career (unlikely for top talents in the transfer era) or arriving from Europe in their late 20s and playing into their late 30s.

The most likely path to 171 is a player who joins MLS as a Designated Player at age 26-27, scores 15-20 goals per season for a decade, and stays healthy throughout. That profile is rare. MLS's increasing integration into the global transfer market -- where young stars leave and aging stars arrive -- means the pipeline of 15-year MLS veterans is shrinking, not growing.

For now, Wondolowski sits alone at the top, the most prolific scorer in the history of a league that has changed around him so completely that his record may be as much a monument to a particular era as it is to his individual excellence.

Follow the 2026 scoring race in real time on our stats page, and explore individual career profiles in our players directory.