MLS Player of the Month facts for kids

The Major League Soccer Player of the Month award is given out every month to a soccer player in Major League Soccer (MLS). It's like being named the best player for that month! A group of sports journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters decides who wins. Before, a different group called the Professional Soccer Reporters Association used to vote for the winner.

Chris Wondolowski has won a record seven Player of the Month awards, winning four of them in the 2012 season alone.

Who Won the Award?

Here's a list of all the players who have won the Major League Soccer Player of the Month award since it started. You can see which month and year they won, their nationality, their position on the field, and which club they played for.

Clint Mathis was the first player to win the award twice in one season.

Carlos Vela won the award three times in the 2019 season.

Nick Rimando is the goalkeeper with the most Player of the Month awards with three.

Month	Year	Player	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Ref.
April	1996.41996	Mauricio Cienfuegos	El Salvador	MF	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	1996.51996	Carlos Valderrama	Colombia	MF	Tampa Bay Mutiny
June	1996.61996	Eduardo Hurtado	Ecuador	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
July	1996.71996	Jason Kreis	United States	FW	Dallas Burn
August	1996.81996	Marco Etcheverry	Bolivia	MF	D.C. United
September	1996.91996	Brad Friedel	United States	GK	Columbus Crew
April	1997.41997	Jaime Moreno	Bolivia	MF	D.C. United
May	1997.51997	Alain Sutter	Switzerland	MF	Dallas Burn
June	1997.61997	John Harkes	United States	MF	D.C. United
July	1997.71997	Wélton	Brazil	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
August	1997.81997	Brad Friedel	United States	GK	Columbus Crew
September	1997.91997	Walter Zenga	Italy	GK	New England Revolution
March	1998.31998	Cobi Jones	United States	MF	Los Angeles Galaxy
April	1998.41998	Juergen Sommer	United States	GK	Columbus Crew
May	1998.51998	Piotr Nowak	Poland	MF	Chicago Fire
June	1998.61998	Ross Paule	United States	MF	Colorado Rapids
July	1998.71998	Roy Lassiter	United States	FW	D.C. United
August	1998.81998	Stern John	Trinidad and Tobago	FW	Columbus Crew
September	1998.91998	Diego Serna	Colombia	FW	Miami Fusion
March	1999.31999	Ante Razov	United States	FW	Chicago Fire
April	1999.41999	Musa Shannon	United States	FW	Tampa Bay Mutiny
May	1999.51999	Roy Lassiter	United States	FW	D.C. United
June	1999.61999	Jason Kreis	United States	FW	Dallas Burn
July	1999.71999	Raúl Díaz Arce	El Salvador	FW	Tampa Bay Mutiny
August	1999.81999	Matt Jordan	United States	GK	Dallas Burn
September	1999.91999	Ronald Cerritos	El Salvador	FW	San Jose Clash
April	2000.42000	Miklos Molnar	Denmark	FW	Kansas City Wizards
May	2000.52000	Tony Meola	United States	GK	Kansas City Wizards
June	2000.62000	Clint Mathis	United States	MF	MetroStars
July	2000.72000	Dante Washington	United States	FW	Columbus Crew
August	2000.82000	Clint Mathis	United States	MF	MetroStars
September	2000.92000	Diego Serna	Colombia	FW	Miami Fusion
April	2001.42001	Alex Pineda Chacón	Honduras	MF	Miami Fusion
May	2001.52001	Clint Mathis	United States	MF	MetroStars
June	2001.62001	Diego Serna	Colombia	FW	Miami Fusion
July	2001.72001	Hristo Stoichkov	Bulgaria	FW	Chicago Fire
August	2001.82001	Brian Maisonneuve	United States	MF	Columbus Crew
April	2002.42002	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	2002.52002	Taylor Twellman	United States	FW	New England Revolution
June	2002.62002	Ariel Graziani	Ecuador	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
July	2002.72002	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
August	2002.82002	Edson Buddle	United States	FW	Columbus Crew
April	2003.42003	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
May	2003.52003	Preki	United States	MF	Kansas City Wizards
June	2003.62003	Ante Razov	United States	FW	Chicago Fire
July	2003.72003	Mark Chung	United States	MF	Colorado Rapids
August	2003.82003	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
September	2003.92003	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
October	2003.102003	Pat Noonan	United States	FW	New England Revolution
April	2004.42004	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	2004.52004	Alejandro Moreno	Venezuela	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
June	2004.62004	Chris Klein	United States	MF	Kansas City Wizards
July	2004.72004	Amado Guevara	Honduras	MF	MetroStars
August	2004.82004	Pat Onstad	Canada	GK	San Jose Earthquakes
September	2004.92004	Jon Busch	United States	GK	Columbus Crew
October	2004.102004	Andy Herron	Costa Rica	FW	Chicago Fire
April	2005.42005	Clint Dempsey	United States	FW	New England Revolution
May	2005.52005	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	FC Dallas
June	2005.62005	Nate Jaqua	United States	FW	Chicago Fire
July	2005.72005	Ricardo Clark	United States	MF	San Jose Earthquakes
August	2005.82005	Scott Sealy	Trinidad and Tobago	FW	Kansas City Wizards
September	2005.92005	Taylor Twellman	United States	FW	New England Revolution
October	2005.102005	Dwayne De Rosario	Canada	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
April	2006.42006	Brian Ching	United States	FW	Houston Dynamo
May	2006.52006	Carlos Ruiz	Guatemala	FW	FC Dallas
June	2006.62006	José Burciaga Jr.	United States	DF	Kansas City Wizards
July	2006.72006	Jonathan Bornstein	United States	DF	Chivas USA
August	2006.82006	Jeff Cunningham	United States	FW	Real Salt Lake
September	2006.92006	Matt Pickens	United States	GK	Chicago Fire
October	2006.102006	Amado Guevara	Honduras	MF	New York Red Bulls
April	2007.42007	Eddie Johnson	United States	FW	Kansas City Wizards
May	2007.52007	Juan Pablo Ángel	Colombia	FW	New York Red Bulls
June	2007.62007	Juan Pablo Ángel	Colombia	FW	New York Red Bulls
July	2007.72007	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Argentina	FW	Columbus Crew
August	2007.82007	Troy Perkins	United States	GK	D.C. United
September	2007.92007	Luciano Emílio	Brazil	FW	D.C. United
October	2007.102007	Matt Pickens	United States	GK	Chicago Fire
April	2008.42008	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	2008.52008	Cuauhtémoc Blanco	Mexico	FW	Chicago Fire
June	2008.62008	Luciano Emílio	Brazil	FW	D.C. United
July	2008.72008	Nick Rimando	United States	GK	Real Salt Lake
August	2008.82008	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Argentina	FW	Columbus Crew
September	2008.92008	Darren Huckerby	England	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
October	2008.102008	Juan Pablo Ángel	Colombia	FW	New York Red Bulls
March	2009.32009	Fredy Montero	Colombia	FW	Seattle Sounders FC
April	2009.42009	Brian McBride	United States	FW	Chicago Fire
May	2009.52009	Conor Casey	United States	FW	Colorado Rapids
June	2009.62009	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Argentina	FW	Columbus Crew
July	2009.72009	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
August	2009.82009	Chad Marshall	United States	DF	Columbus Crew
September	2009.92009	Jeff Cunningham	United States	FW	FC Dallas
October	2009.102009	Freddie Ljungberg	Sweden	FW	Seattle Sounders FC
April	2010.42010	Edson Buddle	United States	FW	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	2010.52010	Álvaro Saborío	Costa Rica	FW	Real Salt Lake
June	2010.62010	Nick Rimando	United States	GK	Real Salt Lake
July	2010.72010	Fredy Montero	Colombia	FW	Seattle Sounders FC
August	2010.82010	Kevin Hartman	United States	GK	FC Dallas
September	2010.92010	Omar Cummings	Jamaica	FW	Colorado Rapids
October	2010.102010	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
March	2011.32011	Nick Rimando	United States	GK	Real Salt Lake
April	2011.42011	Brad Davis	United States	MF	Houston Dynamo
May	2011.52011	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	LA Galaxy
June	2011.62011	Graham Zusi	United States	MF	Sporting Kansas City
July	2011.72011	Kevin Hartman	United States	GK	FC Dallas
August	2011.82011	Dwayne De Rosario	Canada	FW	D.C. United
September	2011.92011	Sébastien Le Toux	France	FW	Philadelphia Union
October	2011.102011	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
March	2012.32012	Thierry Henry	France	FW	New York Red Bulls
April	2012.42012	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
May	2012.52012	Dwayne De Rosario	Canada	FW	D.C. United
June	2012.62012	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
July	2012.72012	Robbie Keane	Republic of Ireland	FW	LA Galaxy
August	2012.82012	Patrice Bernier	Canada	MF	Montreal Impact
September	2012.92012	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
October	2012.92012	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
March	2013.32013	Mike Magee	United States	FW	LA Galaxy
April	2013.42013	Jack McInerney	United States	FW	Philadelphia Union
May	2013.52013	Jack McInerney	United States	FW	Philadelphia Union
June	2013.62013	Mike Magee	United States	FW	LA Galaxy
July	2013.72013	Camilo Sanvezzo	Brazil	FW	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
August	2013.82013	Robbie Keane	Republic of Ireland	FW	LA Galaxy
September	2013.92013	Dominic Oduro	Ghana	FW	Columbus Crew
October	2013.102013	Camilo Sanvezzo	Brazil	FW	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
March	2014.32014	Mauro Díaz	Argentina	MF	FC Dallas
April	2014.42014	Clint Dempsey	United States	FW	Seattle Sounders FC
May	2014.52014	Dom Dwyer	England	FW	Sporting Kansas City
June	2014.62014	Eric Kronberg	United States	GK	Sporting Kansas City
July	2014.72014	Benny Feilhaber	United States	MF	Sporting Kansas City
August	2014.82014	Landon Donovan	United States	FW	LA Galaxy
September	2014.92014	Obafemi Martins	Nigeria	FW	Seattle Sounders FC
October	2014.102014	Lee Nguyen	United States	MF	New England Revolution
March	2015.32015	Octavio Rivero	Uruguay	FW	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
April	2015.42015	Benny Feilhaber	United States	MF	Sporting Kansas City
May	2015.52015	Krisztián Németh	Hungary	FW	Sporting Kansas City
June	2015.62015	David Ousted	Denmark	GK	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
July	2015.72015	Sebastian Giovinco	Italy	FW	Toronto FC
August	2015.82015	Sebastian Giovinco	Italy	FW	Toronto FC
September	2015.92015	Didier Drogba	Ivory Coast	FW	Montreal Impact
October	2015.102015	Didier Drogba	Ivory Coast	FW	Montreal Impact
March	2016.32016	Joao Plata	Ecuador	FW	Real Salt Lake
April	2016.42016	Fanendo Adi	Nigeria	FW	Portland Timbers
May	2016.52016	Bradley Wright-Phillips	England	FW	New York Red Bulls
June	2016.62016	Yura Movsisyan	Armenia	FW	Real Salt Lake
July	2016.72016	Frank Lampard	England	MF	New York City FC
August	2016.82016	Nicolás Lodeiro	Uruguay	MF	Seattle Sounders FC
September	2016.92016	Chad Marshall	United States	DF	Seattle Sounders FC
October	2016.102016	Justin Meram	Iraq	MF	Columbus Crew SC
March	2017.32017	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
April	2017.42017	Joe Bendik	United States	GK	Orlando City SC
May	2017.52017	Nemanja Nikolić	Hungary	FW	Chicago Fire
June	2017.62017	David Villa	Spain	FW	New York City FC
July	2017.72017	Daniel Royer	Austria	MF	New York Red Bulls
August	2017.82017	Ignacio Piatti	Argentina	MF	Montreal Impact
September	2017.92017	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
March	2018.32018	Felipe Gutiérrez	Chile	MF	Sporting Kansas City
April	2018.42018	Miguel Almirón	Paraguay	MF	Atlanta United FC
May	2018.52018	Zack Steffen	United States	GK	Columbus Crew SC
June	2018.62018	Adama Diomande	Norway	FW	Los Angeles FC
July	2018.72018	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
August	2018.82018	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
September	2018.92018	Luciano Acosta	Argentina	MF	D.C. United
October	2018.102018	Wayne Rooney	England	FW	D.C. United
March	2019.32019	Carlos Vela	Mexico	FW	Los Angeles FC
April	2019.42019	Carlos Vela	Mexico	FW	Los Angeles FC
May	2019.52019	Chris Wondolowski	United States	FW	San Jose Earthquakes
June	2019.62019	Maximiliano Moralez	Argentina	MF	New York City FC
July	2019.72019	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
August	2019.82019	Josef Martínez	Venezuela	FW	Atlanta United FC
September	2019.92019	Carlos Vela	Mexico	FW	Los Angeles FC
August	2020.82020	Daryl Dike	United States	FW	Orlando City SC
September	2020.92020	Alejandro Pozuelo	Spain	MF	Toronto FC
October & November	2020.102020	Taty Castellanos	Argentina	FW	New York City FC
April & May	2021.42021	Javier Hernández	Mexico	FW	LA Galaxy
June	2021.62021	Carles Gil	Spain	MF	New England Revolution
July	2021.72021	Gustavo Bou	Argentina	FW	New England Revolution
August	2021.82021	Taty Castellanos	Argentina	FW	New York City FC
September	2021.92021	Javier Eduardo López	Mexico	MF	San Jose Earthquakes
February & March	2022.22022	Lucas Zelarayán	Armenia	MF	Columbus Crew
April	2022.42022	Sebastián Driussi	Argentina	FW	Austin FC
May	2022.52022	Paul Arriola	United States	MF	FC Dallas
June	2022.62022	Luciano Acosta	Argentina	MF	FC Cincinnati
July	2022.72022	Sebastián Driussi	Argentina	FW	Austin FC
August	2022.82022	Hany Mukhtar	Germany	MF	Nashville SC
September & October	2022.92022	Brenner	Brazil	FW	FC Cincinnati
February & March	2023.22023	Thiago Almada	Argentina	MF	Atlanta United FC
April	2023.42023	Cristian Espinoza	Argentina	MF	San Jose Earthquakes
May	2023.52023	Hany Mukhtar	Germany	MF	Nashville SC
June	2023.62023	Alan Pulido	Mexico	FW	Sporting Kansas City
July	2023.72023	Luciano Acosta	Argentina	MF	FC Cincinnati
August	2023.82023	Luciano Acosta	Argentina	MF	FC Cincinnati
September	2023.92023	Cucho Hernández	Colombia	FW	Columbus Crew
October	2023.102023	Denis Bouanga	Gabon	FW	Los Angeles FC
February & March	2024.22024	Luis Suárez	Uruguay	FW	Inter Miami CF
April	2024.42024	Lionel Messi	Argentina	FW	Inter Miami CF
May	2024.52024	Luciano Acosta	Argentina	MF	FC Cincinnati
June	2024.62024	Mateusz Bogusz	Poland	MF	Los Angeles FC
July	2024.72024	Cucho Hernández	Colombia	FW	Columbus Crew
August & September	2024.82024	Evander	Brazil	MF	Portland Timbers
October	2024.102024	Lionel Messi	Argentina	FW	Inter Miami CF
February & March	2025.22025	Tai Baribo	Israel	FW	Philadelphia Union
April	2025.42025	Brian White	United States	FW	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
May	2025.052025	Lionel Messi	Argentina	FW	Inter Miami CF
June	2025.062025	Anders Dreyer	Denmark	FW	San Diego FC
July	2025.062025	Lionel Messi	Argentina	FW	Inter Miami CF

Players with Multiple Wins

Some players are so good that they've won the Player of the Month award more than once! This table shows the players who have won at least two awards. Players whose names are in bold are still playing in MLS as of August 2025.

Landon Donovan won six awards over the span of eleven seasons.

Rank	Player	Wins
1st	Chris Wondolowski	7
2nd	Landon Donovan	6
	Josef Martínez
	Carlos Ruiz
5th	Luciano Acosta	5
6th	Lionel Messi	4
7th	Juan Pablo Ángel	3
	Guillermo Barros Schelotto
	Dwayne De Rosario
	Clint Mathis
	Nick Rimando
	Diego Serna
	Carlos Vela
14th	Edson Buddle	2
	Taty Castellanos
	Jeff Cunningham
	Clint Dempsey
	Sebastián Driussi
	Didier Drogba
	Luciano Emílio
	United States Benny Feilhaber
	United States Brad Friedel
	Italy Sebastian Giovinco
	Honduras Amado Guevara
	United States Kevin Hartman
	Colombia Cucho Hernández
	Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane
	United States Jason Kreis
	United States Roy Lassiter
	United States Mike Magee
	United States Chad Marshall
	United States Jack McInerney
	Colombia Fredy Montero
	Germany Hany Mukhtar
	United States Matt Pickens
	United States Ante Razov
	Brazil Camilo Sanvezzo
	United States Taylor Twellman

Awards by Country

This table shows how many Player of the Month awards have been won by players from different countries. It also lists how many different players from each country have won.

Carlos Ruiz has won all of Guatemala's six awards.

Nationality	Players	Wins
United States	50	79
Argentina	10	22
Colombia	5	11
Brazil	5	7
Mexico	5	7
Venezuela	2	7
Guatemala	1	6
England	5	5
Canada	3	5
Denmark	3	3
Ecuador	3	3
El Salvador	3	3
Spain	3	3
Uruguay	3	3
Honduras	2	3
Italy	2	3
Armenia	2	2
Bolivia	2	2
Costa Rica	2	2
France	2	2
Hungary	2	2
Nigeria	2	2
Poland	2	2
Trinidad and Tobago	2	2
Germany	1	2
Ivory Coast	1	2
Republic of Ireland	1	2
Austria	1	1
Bulgaria	1	1
Chile	1	1
Gabon	1	1
Ghana	1	1
Iraq	1	1
Israel	1	1
Jamaica	1	1
Norway	1	1
Paraguay	1	1
Sweden	1	1
Switzerland	1	1

Awards by Club

This table shows which MLS clubs have had players win the most Player of the Month awards. It also lists how many different players from each club have won.

Awards by Player Position

This table shows how many Player of the Month awards have been won by players based on their position on the soccer field.