What MLS clubs are most likely to enter the Mo Salah sweepstakes?

Mohamed Salah’s departure from Liverpool is confirmed, with the Egypt icon set to become a free agent this summer. The 33-year-old is as of today on 255 goals in 435 competitive fixtures with the Reds, but his future has been cloudy for some time, and the inevitable has come to pass.

This means a lot of things to a lot of people, but over in “call it soccer” country, it means it’s time for a hallowed tradition to get going once again. A major Premier League star making his exit? That’s MLS’s time to shine!

On the podcast, Patrick and Hayden talked about possible landing spots, speculating on whether he could find a place elsewhere in Europe (where he could still do the job for a Champions League-level club), or the long-standing Saudi Pro League possibility. That makes plenty of sense, and from a geopolitical perspective it’s a…let’s say tricky moment for one of the most prominent Muslims in the entire world to end up in the United States.

But MLS has been an underdog before when it comes to the world’s best players, with the league, Inter Miami, and Apple TV outmaneuvering untold other parties with a creative contract to lure Lionel Messi aboard. Whether any of those groups knew what to do once the global legend signed his deal is another problem; the point is, they got their man.

The same to some extent could be said about Antoine Griezmann, who will join Orlando City this summer. Thomas Müller seems to be having a blast with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and Son Hyung-min is doing the same with LAFC. Whatever you feel about the league, MLS clubs have shown they can make an offer rolling financial, commercial, and lifestyle aspects together that has appeal for players in Salah’s class.

When MLS commissioner Don Garber tells reporters how much he’d love to have Salah come to the league, as he did on Wednesday, you can take that as a signal that decision-makers around the league are at the very least jotting down some ballpark salary figures and having a chat with ownership. Salah could still end up back in Serie A, or maybe he fancies a Messi-esque couple of years in Paris, or the Saudi money could simply be too rich to ignore…but it’s safe to assume his camp will be getting a very friendly phone call from someone somewhere in MLS.

In a bygone era, the European-based press would be flush with rumors attaching the prolific forward to the handful of MLS clubs that people actually know abroad. There will still likely be examples of “Salah to join Messi in Miami???” chatter, but it does feel like things have moved on past the day where any player in their mid-30s who had 10 appearances at Sunderland or Blackburn would be linked with a move to join David Beckham in Los Angeles.

Still, there will be some clubs that come up despite having no realistic path to sign Salah, and there will be other clubs who could actually manage it that will go completely unrecognized. Here are the sides where it makes some kind of logical sense, and where the team involved might actually be willing to make the required offer:

San Diego FC

The early buzz points to the most recent expansion side to join MLS, with San Diego FC coming up in multiple reports. On the surface, it makes sense: the club is owned by British-Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, they’re a major contender for trophies while playing the most aesthetically pleasing soccer in the league, and you can live right by the beach. What’s not to like?

However, there’s a conflict within the reporting already. The Athletic were told by an unnamed source that “a big-money designated player does not fit their sporting philosophy,” while Mansour gave an interview to TalkSport that sounded more inviting (though still ultimately passing the decision down to sporting director Tyler Heaps).

The idea that a costly superstar wouldn’t work for San Diego goes in the face of the fact that they’re paying ex-PSV and Napoli star Hirving Lozano quite a bit (per the MLSPA, Lozano’s guaranteed salary for 2025 was over $7.6 million) to just hang out after the winger had a falling out with head coach Mikey Varas late last season. The club talked about moving Lozano as soon as possible back in January, but he’s still on their books today.

If San Diego can move one expensive left-sided attacking player out, or buy out his contract, they’d suddenly have the opening to sign Salah in compliance with MLS roster rules. They don’t really need to, given how well everything is going, but the concept makes more sense for Los Niños than anyone else. Salah would actually lower the age of their starting left winger if he arrived, as the current first-choice option is 35-year-old Amahl Pellegrino.

Chicago Fire

After over a decade of directionless ownership and poor results, things have changed in the Windy City. Owner Joe Mansueto has overseen multiple contacts with high-profile players, though Xherdan Shaqiri is the biggest name to actually end up taking his talents to Chicago.

Still, the club broke ground on a reported $750 million stadium earlier this month, spent big to bring former USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter to the club, and in general feel like a club that wants to make a big splash.

The issue in place here is that the club has chosen the U-22 Initiative roster model, which gives them a couple million in General Allocation Money (we’ll spare you the university coursework required to become fluent in MLSese, just know it means they have more flexibility to operate under the league’s salary cap). That choice limits them to two Designated Players, and those spots are taken by striker Hugo Cuypers and left winger Jonathan Bamba.

Bamba hasn’t been anything special to start 2026, and while his expected assists per 96 was quite good in 2025, that was about all you could say for him. Per American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric, his 2025 put him somewhere around the 43rd-best winger in MLS.

Apologies for this scorching hot take, but I think Salah can be better than the 43rd-best winger in MLS.

Chicago didn’t pick that roster build model for no reason, but the club is hungry to break back into the sporting conscious of the third-largest city in the U.S., and star power is the quickest way there. The Athletic reported that Chicago hasn’t talked to Salah at this point, but the man only just confirmed he was leaving Liverpool earlier this week. Don’t rule the Fire out.

Toronto FC

TFC has a long history of aiming high and having the cash to make ambitious moves happen. They were at it again just last month, signing Josh Sargent from Norwich for $22 million (with an additional $5 million in add-ons that could make his move the most expensive in league history).

For a good Championship striker who figures to be on the outside looking in with the USMNT this summer, it’s an odd choice, but that’s TFC’s problem, not ours. The point is that when this club decides to go after a target, the money isn’t what gets in the way.

Toronto is using the U-22 Initiative model as well, so they’d have to change that given that Sargent and Djordje Mihailovic are on the books as DPs. Teams are free to make that switch once the summer transfer window opens, so that’s not a real obstacle.

TFC haven’t impressed this season, they were dreadful in 2025 (-14.62 xGD), and they weren’t much better in 2024 (-6.79 xGD). Buying Sargent is an attempt to resurrect the club after previous big-money moves for Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi exploded in TFC’s face, and making a high-profile move Salah in the summer would certainly be in character.

New York City FC

Avert your eyes, Liverpool fans: there’s a reasonable argument for Manchester City satellite NYCFC to end up as a strong candidate in the race to secure Salah’s signature. The Pigeons have three Designated Players, so someone would have to depart first, but the solution on that front seems clear.

While Thiago Martins captains the side at center back and Nicolás Fernández Mercau is delivering the goals as NYCFC’s no. 9, Talles Magno’s career in MLS seems to have floundered. After putting up 7 goals and 10 assists as a 20-year-old in 2022, the Brazilian has — between being miscast as a striker and his own lack of form — become an afterthought. He was loaned out to Corinthians for a year, and is now stuck behind Agustín Ojeda and Hannes Wolf in Pascal Jensen’s side, having played 66 minutes across five matches this season.

NYCFC, like Chicago, have a new stadium in the works after years of needing a better venue, and while Etihad Park isn’t scheduled to open until the start of the 2027-28 MLS season (the league’s calendar change is coming after this season ends). It doesn’t seem like NYCFC needs the help on the pitch, but the reality is that Salah would bring more visibility in the biggest media market in the country than a Supporters’ Shield run or MLS Cup.

If you hear that Magno is on the move, that could be NYCFC setting things up for a swoop…or, it could just be the club clearing the decks to acquire another young prospect. City Football Group isn’t exactly going to be able to plan a transfer windfall around Salah, which would go against their norms. However, seemingly ageless playmaker Maxi Moralez is still in place at 39, so it’s not like the club thinks entirely about the calciomercato all day.

D.C. United

MLS observers are going to laugh, but there’s a logic here. Impatience from ownership and a series of changes at general manger and head coach have meant that each new regime is building atop the rubble of several attempted rebuilds. They’re not exactly a club where someone like Salah looks at from afar and think, “yes, that’s the place for me.”

However, under head coach René Weiler, 2026 has brought better-than-expected play. By no means should you confuse that for being actually good, as their -2.37 xGD places them 22nd out of 30 teams at the moment. They’re combative, organized, and committed, and around Audi Field that signifies genuine progress.

However, they’re extremely limited as an attacking side, even after spending $11 million this past winter on Designated Players Tai Baribo and Louis Munteanu. Baribo, brought in from the Philadelphia Union, has looked the part as a no. 9, but Munteanu (a $7 million signing from CFR Cluj) was being brought along slowly before ending up injured just before the international break.

United is another club using the U-22 Initiative roster build, with their pricey front line taking up their only available Designated Player spots. D.C. can change that this summer, but it would be a bit confusing to build around a strike partnership at such cost only to immediately pivot to Salah (especially when the club is actually taking baby steps in the right direction for the first time in years).

Here’s the thing though: the Black-and-Red love signing ex-Premier League forwards at this age when they become free agents. Wayne Rooney was a smash success, and while Christian Benteke didn’t have the same impact, he did win the 2024 MLS Golden Boot. This club also went after Mesut Özil as well, and last summer, minority owner Joe Mamo said he felt D.C. needed “older Premier League players” to improve.

Those moves, mooted or actually completed, weren’t made with the game model or squad build in mind. The focus was entirely on signing a big name who could score some dang goals, which in turn would juice attendance and local relevance. If United ownership thinks Salah has any interest, it would be entirely in character for them to pursue him aggressively.