StatVault

MLS VAL Leaders

VAL — Value Above Leagueis StatVault's single-number seasonal player-value metric: our answer to Approximate Value, but position-aware, era-adjusted (measured against each season's peers), availability-aware, and robust against statistical outliers.

Higher is better. Current method: VAL-2.0 robust cohorts (median/IQR/MAD + capped z-scores). A league-average full-season starter ≈ 8; elite seasons land ~18–27. Roles without box-score counting stats are honestly excluded.

Career VAL

sum of seasons

Total career value — rewards sustained greatness + longevity.

Showing 30 of 2,082 ranked entries.

  1. 1Gyasi ZardesST146.4
  2. 2Diego ValeriAM144.6
  3. 3Diego FagundezW141
  4. 4Luciano AcostaAM139.8
  5. 5Chris WondolowskiST138.5
  6. 6Kei KamaraST129.9
  7. 7Albert RusnákAM126.1
  8. 8C.J. SapongST120.8
  9. 9Bradley Wright-PhillipsST119.1
  10. 10Jonathan OsorioCM115.6
  11. 11Josef MartínezST114.1
  12. 12Hany MukhtarST113.1
  13. 13Maxi UrrutiST110.3
  14. 14Nicolás LodeiroAM110.1
  15. 15Darlington NagbeCM109.8
  16. 16Carles GilAM109
  17. 17Ethan FinlayW107.3
  18. 18Dom DwyerST106.7
  19. 19Justin MeramW105.6
  20. 20Federico HiguaínAM104.8
  21. 21Diego RossiW103.9
  22. 22Jordan MorrisW101.2
  23. 23Dániel SallóiW98.9
  24. 24Cristian RoldanDM98.2
  25. 25Lee NguyenAM97.9
  26. 26Cristian EspinozaW97.2
  27. 27Michael BarriosW97.2
  28. 28Carlos VelaW95.9
  29. 29Will BruinST95.9
  30. 30Maxi MoralezAM94.7

Peak Season VAL

best single year

Each player's single best season — pure peak, longevity-neutral.

Showing 30 of 2,082 ranked entries.

  1. 1Lionel MessiST25.3
  2. 2Luciano AcostaAM25.1
  3. 3Carlos VelaW24.7
  4. 4Sebastian GiovincoST24.7
  5. 5Anders DreyerW23.3
  6. 6Diego ValeriAM23.3
  7. 7Gabriel PecW23.3
  8. 8Martín OjedaAM22.9
  9. 9Hany MukhtarST22.8
  10. 10Philip ZinckernagelW22.8
  11. 11Robbie KeaneST22.8
  12. 12Dénis BouangaW22.7
  13. 13EvanderAM22.6
  14. 14Zlatan IbrahimovicST22.5
  15. 15Ryan GauldAM22
  16. 16Obafemi MartinsST21.9
  17. 17Brandon VázquezST21.6
  18. 18David VillaST21.5
  19. 19Kei KamaraST21.5
  20. 20Bradley Wright-PhillipsST21.4
  21. 21Mike MageeST21.2
  22. 22Damir KreilachST21.1
  23. 23Dániel SallóiW21.1
  24. 24Carles GilAM21
  25. 25Djordje MihailovicAM21
  26. 26Lee NguyenAM21
  27. 27Sebastián DriussiAM21
  28. 28Thiago AlmadaAM20.9
  29. 29Jesús FerreiraST20.8
  30. 30C.J. SapongST20.7

Best Single Seasons

any player-season

The highest-value individual seasons in the database.

Showing 30 of 6,392 ranked entries.

  1. 1Lionel MessiST · 202525.3
  2. 2Luciano AcostaAM · 202325.1
  3. 3Carlos VelaW · 201924.7
  4. 4Sebastian GiovincoST · 201524.7
  5. 5Sebastian GiovincoST · 201624.1
  6. 6Anders DreyerW · 202523.3
  7. 7Diego ValeriAM · 201723.3
  8. 8Gabriel PecW · 202423.3
  9. 9Martín OjedaAM · 202522.9
  10. 10Hany MukhtarST · 202122.8
  11. 11Hany MukhtarST · 202222.8
  12. 12Philip ZinckernagelW · 202522.8
  13. 13Robbie KeaneST · 201422.8
  14. 14Dénis BouangaW · 202522.7
  15. 15EvanderAM · 202422.6
  16. 16Zlatan IbrahimovicST · 201922.5
  17. 17EvanderAM · 202522.4
  18. 18Ryan GauldAM · 202322
  19. 19Dénis BouangaW · 202421.9
  20. 20Obafemi MartinsST · 201421.9
  21. 21Dénis BouangaW · 202321.8
  22. 22Brandon VázquezST · 202221.6
  23. 23David VillaST · 201721.5
  24. 24Kei KamaraST · 201521.5
  25. 25Bradley Wright-PhillipsST · 201821.4
  26. 26David VillaST · 201621.4
  27. 27Luciano AcostaAM · 202421.2
  28. 28Mike MageeST · 201321.2
  29. 29Damir KreilachST · 202121.1
  30. 30Dániel SallóiW · 202121.1