If you're good enough, you're old enough. And MLS has plenty of talent for which that aphorism rings true.
Following Toronto FC's signing of 15-year-old Canadian youth international winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to an MLS contract on Wednesday, there's a new entrant in the league's 10 youngest signings.
In fact, he's the fourth to make the top 10 in the last calendar year. Teenage talent continues to burgeon in MLS, though still atop the list is former wunderkind Freddy Adu, who signed his first contract when he was just 14 years and 168 days old in 2004.
Below is the list of how old each player was on the day they signed their MLS contract.
The 10 youngest players signed in MLS all-time
| Player (club) | Age when signed | Year signed |
|---|---|---|
| Freddy Adu (D.C. United) | 14 years, 168 days | 2004 |
| Emmanuel Ochoa (San Jose Earthquakes) | 14 years, 191 days | 2019 |
| Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire) | 14 years, 297 days | 2019 |
| Joe Scally (New York City FC) | 15 years, 83 days | 2018 |
| Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City) | 15 years, 89 days | 2017 |
| Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes) | 15 years, 102 days | 2019 |
| Fuad Ibrahim (Toronto FC) | 15 years, 130 days | 2007 |
| George Bello (Atlanta United) | 15 years, 146 days | 2017 |
| Bryan Reynolds (FC Dallas) | 15 years, 147 days | 2016 |
| Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Toronto FC) | 15 years, 220 days | 2020 |