Nelson Valdez

Option declined following 2016 season.

There are few major leagues in the world that haven’t felt the impact of Nelson Valdez’s stinging talent. The multi-faceted attacking player has played in leagues in seven different countries and has scored in every single one. Comfortable either up top as a second striker or out wide as a goal-chasing winger, Valdez has been a goal terror everywhere he’s gone. Despite standing 5-foot-10, Valdez can out-jump players with a half foot advantage, and his decisive ball control and nose for goal make him an extremely difficult defensive assignment.

INTERNATIONAL: Valdez has a lengthy decade-long career with Paraguay studded with big moments and more than a dozen goals. He represented Paraguay at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, has played in three Copa America tournaments and helped instigate a semifinal run in 2011 and an appearance in the 2011 final.

OUTSIDE MLS: Valdez’s passport hardly has blank space. After starting in Paraguay in 2000, Valdez played in the German Bundesliga with three different teams (Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt), Spain’s La Liga with two (Hércules and Valencia), Russia (Rubin Kazan), the UAE (Al Jazira), Greece (Olympiacos), and now the U.S.