Who is best right now, by VAL — Value Above League, StatVault's single-number value metric: each season measured against that season's players at the same position, so it is era-relative and position-aware by construction.
Index = 3·VAL 2025 + 2·VAL 2024 + 1·VAL 2023, divided by the weights used. Only seasons since a player's rookie year count; a season missed inside that window counts as zero. The 2026 season is in progress: its VAL to date is shown beside the index, never mixed into it. A league-average full-season starter is about 8; elite seasons land around 18–27.
Rankings as of not declared — this board's source declares no date.
| # | Player | Pos | VAL Index | VAL 2025 | 2026 to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anders DreyerSD | W | 23.9 | 23.9 | 18.9 |
| 2 | Dénis BouangaLAFC | W | 22.0 | 21.9 | 17.0 |
| 3 | Philip ZinckernagelCHI | W | 21.4 | 21.4 | 12.0 |
| 4 | EvanderCIN | AM | 21.2 | 23.1 | 18.0 |
| 5 | Eric Maxim Choupo-MotingNYRB | ST | 20.6 | 20.6 | 3.9 |
| 6 | Hany MukhtarNSH | ST | 19.9 | 21.4 | 15.0 |
| 7 | Hugo CuypersCHI | ST | 18.3 | 19.6 | 7.4 |
| 8 | Petar MusaFCD | ST | 18.1 | 18.9 | 14.3 |
| 9 | Wilfried ZahaCLT | W | 17.7 | 17.7 | 5.5 |
| 10 | Carles GilNER | AM | 17.5 | 19.2 | 16.5 |
| 11 | Gabriel PecLAG | W | 17.4 | 13.7 | 9.0 |
| 12 | Martín OjedaORL | AM | 17.1 | 22.4 | 13.0 |
| 13 | Christian BentekeDCU | ST | 16.9 | 13.9 | — |
| 14 | Dejan JoveljicSKC | ST | 16.8 | 20.2 | 14.0 |
| 15 | Kévin DenkeyCIN | ST | 16.6 | 16.6 | 14.8 |
| 16 | Marco PašalićORL | W | 16.5 | 16.5 | 3.9 |
| 17 | Djordje MihailovicTOR | AM | 16.4 | 20.9 | 5.5 |
| 18 | Dániel GazdagNER | AM | 16.4 | 14.2 | 5.7 |
| 19 | Cristian ArangoSJE | ST | 16.3 | 18.7 | — |
| 20 | Luis SuárezMIA | ST | 16.3 | 16.0 | 13.5 |
| 21 | Rafael NavarroSTL | ST | 15.9 | 18.3 | 15.4 |
| 22 | Luciano AcostaFCD | AM | 15.8 | 9.2 | — |
| 23 | Lionel MessiMIA | ST | 15.7 | 22.4 | 19.7 |
| 24 | Diego RossiCLB | W | 15.6 | 18.7 | 8.4 |
| 25 | Hirving LozanoLAG | W | 15.6 | 15.6 | 2.7 |
| 26 | Hannes WolfNYC | W | 15.4 | 17.4 | 6.7 |
| 27 | Albert RusnákSEA | AM | 15.3 | 16.6 | 11.6 |
| 28 | Sam SurridgeNSH | ST | 15.2 | 20.7 | 12.2 |
| 29 | Emil ForsbergNYRB | AM | 15.1 | 17.9 | 8.4 |
| 30 | Brian WhiteVAN | ST | 15.1 | 12.2 | 13.0 |
| 31 | Cristian EspinozaNSH | W | 14.8 | 13.6 | 9.4 |
| 32 | Tadeo AllendeMIA | W | 14.7 | 14.7 | 1.3 |
| 33 | Joseph PaintsilLAG | W | 14.1 | 13.7 | 9.1 |
| 34 | Prince OwusuMTL | ST | 13.8 | 19.8 | 16.9 |
| 35 | João KlaussLAG | ST | 13.1 | 16.6 | 5.0 |
| 36 | Emmanuel Latte LathATL | ST | 13.1 | 13.1 | 4.2 |
| 37 | Diego LunaRSL | W | 12.8 | 14.3 | 8.4 |
| 38 | Luis MurielORL | ST | 12.7 | 14.7 | — |
| 39 | Josef MartínezCLB | ST | 12.6 | 14.3 | 2.2 |
| 40 | Alonso MartínezNYC | ST | 12.5 | 18.0 | — |
| 41 | Jack McGlynnHOU | CM | 12.2 | 15.4 | 6.6 |
| 42 | Brian GutiérrezCHI | W | 12.0 | 12.6 | — |
| 43 | David Da CostaPOR | AM | 11.7 | 11.7 | 9.5 |
| 44 | Jonathan BambaCHI | W | 11.7 | 11.7 | 5.5 |
| 45 | Marcel HartelSTL | AM | 11.6 | 15.6 | 9.4 |
| 46 | Dániel SallóiTOR | W | 11.6 | 12.5 | 13.8 |
| 47 | Telasco SegoviaMIA | W | 11.5 | 11.5 | 8.8 |
| 48 | Ezequiel PonceHOU | ST | 11.4 | 15.6 | 3.4 |
| 49 | Aleksey MiranchukATL | AM | 11.3 | 15.3 | 12.1 |
| 50 | Jordi AlbaMIA | FB | 11.3 | 14.0 | — |
Career and single-season VAL leaders live on the MLS VAL board. Disagree with the order? Make your call in Beat the Vault.