Last update: August 7, 2019
The Allocation Process is the mechanism used to determine which MLS Club has first priority to acquire a player listed on the Allocation Ranking List (see below). The list will consist of (i) select U.S. Men’s National Team players, (ii) elite youth U.S. National Team players, or (iii) former MLS players returning to MLS after joining a non-MLS club for a transfer fee greater than $500,000. Generally, the Allocation Ranking List will be updated once a year on the day after the conclusion of the MLS regular season. The Allocation Ranking List will only be edited during the year if a player is transferred out of the league or if a top youth national team player is added to the list.
The Allocation Ranking Order is set by taking the reverse order of the club’s standings at the end of each MLS Season, taking playoff performance into account, with the new expansion clubs at the top of the order.
Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is the other club’s ranking. At all times, each club is assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS League season.
Allocation Ranking Order
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Minnesota United FC
- Houston Dynamo
- New England Revolution
- Chicago Fire
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Orlando City SC
- Philadelphia Union
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- LAFC
- Real Salt Lake
- Columbus Crew SC
- New York City FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Seattle Sounders
- New York Red Bulls
- Portland Timbers
- Atlanta United
- FC Cincinnati
- LA Galaxy
- Toronto FC
- D.C. United
- Montreal Impact
2019 Allocation Ranking List
Last update: August 7, 2019
The Allocation Ranking List is comprised of players in the following categories:
- Select U.S. Men’s National Team players.
- Select elite U.S. Youth National Team players.
- Players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000 (USD).
The players who will be included on the Allocation Ranking List will be determined by Major League Soccer’s player personnel department and club technical staffs and will be updated once each year, during the time window between the end of the MLS regular season and MLS Cup. The Allocation Ranking List will only be updated during the season if an elite U.S. youth national team player turns 18 or graduates from the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, FL and is deemed eligible for the list. In addition, the Allocation Ranking List will be updated when a player is transferred out of MLS for more than $500,000.
| Player | Current club | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Adams, Tyler | RB Leipzig (GER) | Transfer |
| Almiron, Miguel | Newcastle United (ENG) | Transfer |
| Anangono, Juan | LDU Quito (ECU) | Transfer |
| Cameron, Geoff | Queens Park Rangers (ENG) | Transfer |
| Carmona, Carlos | Colo-Colo (CHI) | Transfer |
| Castillo, Fabian | Club Tijuana (MEX) | Transfer |
| Davies, Alphonso | Bayern Munich (GER) | Transfer |
| Diaz, Mauro | Shabab Al-Ahli (UAE) | Transfer |
| Flores, Junior | Out of contract | Youth USMNT |
| Gaber, Omar | Pyramids FC (EGY) | Transfer |
| Giovinco, Sebastian | Al-Hilal (SAU) | Transfer |
| Green, Julian | Greuther Furth (GER) | Youth USMNT |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United (ENG) | Transfer |
| Horta, Andre | Braga (POR) | Transfer |
| Johannsson, Aron | Werder Bremen (GER) | Senior USMNT |
| Johnson, Fabian | Borussia Monchengladbach (GER) | Senior USMNT |
| Larin, Cyle | Besiktas (TUR) | Transfer |
| Martins, Obafemi | Shanghai Greenland Shenhua (CHN) | Transfer |
| Miazga, Matt | FC Nantes (FRA) | Transfer |
| Najar, Andy | Anderlecht (BEL) | Transfer |
| Nedyalkov, Anton | Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) | Transfer |
| Perez, Manny | Celtic (SCO) | Youth USMNT |
| Poku, Kwadwo | Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL) | Transfer |
| Pulisic, Christian | Chelsea (ENG) | Senior USMNT |
| Ream, Tim | Fulham (ENG) | Transfer |
| Richards, Chris | Bayern Munich (GER) | Transfer |
| Rivero, Octavio | Atlas (MEX) | Transfer |
| Rochat, Alain | Lausanne-Sport (SWI) | Transfer |
| Rubin, Rubio | Club Tijuana (MEX) | Youth USMNT |
| Sanvezzo, Camilo | Club Tijuana (MEX) | Transfer |
| Sargent, Josh | Werder Bremen (GER) | Senior USMNT |
| Silva, Alejandro | Olimpia (PAR) | Transfer |
| Steffen, Zack | Fortuna Dusseldorf (GER) | Transfer |
| Tabla, Ballou Jean-Yves | FC Barcelona (ESP) | Transfer |
| Torres, Erick | Club Tijuana (MEX) | Transfer |
| Valencia, Jose Adolfo | Feirense (POR) | Transfer |
| Vazquez, Victor | Al-Arabi (QAT) | Transfer |
| Yedlin, DeAndre | Newcastle United (ENG) | Transfer |
| Yotun, Yoshi | Cruz Azul (MEX) | Transfer |
2019 Allocation Ranking Order Transactions
- December 10: San Jose Earthquakes traded the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order to Toronto FC in exchange for the No. 6 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order, $75,000 in General Allocation Money and $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money.
- December 27: FC Cincinnati traded the No. 1 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order to Toronto FC for the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order and the 2019 Natural Second Round SuperDraft pick.
- December 27: Toronto FC used No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to sign center back Laurent Ciman.
- January 23: FC Cincinnati traded No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order, $150,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money, $50,000 in 2020 General Allocation Money, $100,000 in Targeted Allocation Money to Toronto FC for Nick Hagglund and the No. 24 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order.
- April 11: Orlando traded the No. 2 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to the LA Galaxy for $300,000 in 2019 Targeted Allocation Money, $100,000 in 2020 Targeted Allocation Money and the No. 11 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order.
- April 11: Toronto FC traded the No. 1 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order to the LA Galaxy for the Galaxy's natural first-round pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft and the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order.
- April 11: LA Galaxy used No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to sign center back Giancarlo Gonzalez.
- June 3: Toronto FC used No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to sign center back Omar Gonzalez.
- August 7: Colorado Rapids traded the No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to D.C. United for $100,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money, $100,000 in 2020 General Allocation Money and the No. 11 spot in Allocation Ranking Order. D.C. United used No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to sign forward Ola Kamara.
- August 7: Chicago Fire traded the No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order and Jorge Corrales to the Montreal Impact for Micheal Azira, a 2020 second-round SuperDraft pick and the No. 6 spot in Allocation Ranking Order. Montreal used No. 1 spot in Allocation Ranking Order to sign winger Ballou Tabla.