This transfer window has been a busy one for lots of Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, however the league has also seen plenty of high-profile departures that have shocked fans across the world.
For a long time Major League Soccer was perceived to be a ‘retirement home’ of a league. A footballing scene where the great of the European game would go to see out their final days in the sport; think of David Beckham & Steven Gerrard at LA Galaxy, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa at New York City FC, Kaka at Orlando City, Wayne Rooney at DC United and of course Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami.
Times have been changing though, and MLS is becoming a much younger and more dynamic league. There has been a particular upturn in the number of exports to European and South American clubs.
Young talents such as Christian McFarlane and Esmir Bajraktarević left America this winter to join Manchester City and PSV Eindhoven respectively.
The quality of the soccer played in MLS, the continued growth of its fan culture and the developing importance of the sport in a packed US market has meant that the league is capable of retaining its star players more so than in previous years.
However, during this winter transfer window, the league has seen numerous big names make shocking moves out of Major League Soccer.
Cucho Hernandez, Columbus Crew to Real Betis.
Cucho Hernandez was arguably the best player in Major League Soccer (outside of Miami, of course).
The Colombian international scored 58 goals in 92 appearances across a two-and-a-half year spell with the Columbus Crew. In that time he powered Crew to MLS Cup 2023 and Leagues Cup 2024 glory. He came runner-up in the 2024 MLS MVP vote (to Lionel Messi).
In 2024 Crew came second in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters Shield table, eight points behind Inter Miami. They were surprisingly knocked out by New York Red Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, therefore failing to defend the MLS Cup.
Cucho is the perfect striker for a Wilfried Nancy side. He ranked in the 100th percentile for ‘Shot attempts’, in the 99th for ‘Touches’ and ‘Chances created’ and in the 92th for ‘Goals’, compared to similar strikers.
The club-record-fee for a sale (around $16 million, plus add-ons) seems to have played a big part in Crew’s decision to sell the player to La Liga’s Real Betis. This doesn’t make the move any less surprising though. It would have been expected that Crew would be desperate to keep hold of their star player in order to challenge for trophies in 2025.
Facundo Torres, Orlando City to Palmeiras
Facundo Torres is Orlando City’s all-time MLS top scorer and has arguably become the Lions’ most important talisman. The Uruguayan international finished as their top scorer (16 goals) in MLS 2024, and had the club’s highest FotMob rating of 7.46.
The 24 year old has scored 47 goals in 123 appearances for the club.
Fresh off of earning a place in their first Eastern Conference Final (which they ultimately lost to New York Red Bulls), it was expected that Orlando City were to build upon their solid foundations.
However, losing Torres to Brazilian Serie A side, Palmeiras, will surely damage the Lions’ chances of building on the recent good form.
Some will argue that for a club-record sales fee (reportedly up to $14 million) the sale works for all parties.
Sebastián Driussi, Austin FC to River Plate
Austin FC’ all-time top goal scorer has been transferred to Argentine giants, River Plate. Sebastián Driussi had scored 51 goals in 115 appearances for the Verde & Black.
He leaves Austin after having a ‘tremendous impact’, in the words of sporting director Rodolfo Borrell.
The Argentine had become part of the furniture for Austin and the MLS. He scored seven goals in 27 league games last season, as he became the only Austin player to score a FotMob rating of more than seven (7.04).
Austin finished 10th in the Western Conference in 2024, five points off of the playoffs.
Nico Estevez, the club’s new manager in October, would have likely wanted to keep his best players together for a push in 2025. However, with Driussi occupying a Designated Player slot, moving him to his boyhood club does create an option to bring in a new, top player.
Coco Carrasquilla, Houston Dynamo to Pumas UNAM
Adalberto ‘Coco’ Carrasquilla has spent four years with Texan side, Houston Dynamo, but this January has seen him move to Mexican club Pumas UNAM.
Dynamo finished 5th in the Western Conference in 2025, 10 points off the top of the table. They were beaten by Seattle Sounders in the playoffs however.
Across the last three years, Carrasquilla has played more than 30 games per season, cementing him as a key midfield operator. He is an all-action midfielder who ranks in the 8th percentile in ‘Touches’ for similar players.
For Houston to push further up the conference and challenge for the Supporters Shield, keeping your key starters would be an important action. Therefore losing Carrasquilla in the same window as releasing Hector Herrera might put question marks over their midfield quality for 2025.
John Tolkin, New York Red Bulls to Holstein Kiel
In many ways John Tolkin’s move to the Bundesliga is not surprising at all. He joins the likes of Alphonso Davies, Joe Scally, Ricardo Pepi, Chris Richards and Kevin Paredes in moving to the German top flight from MLS.
Although expectations and hype are not the same as Davies’ transfer to Bayern Munich, Tolkin’s move is an intriguing one. He had become a stalwart for NYRB; he played 135 across all competitions despite still being 22 years old.
The left wing back showed his class in 2023 when he produced four goals and 10 assists in 36 games. Last season he helped power NYRBs to an unprecedented MLS Cup Final (which they lost to LA Galaxy).
Progressing from a position of strength is one of the best ways to develop. This make Tolkin’s departure a little bit more surprising, as it could potentially limit NYRBs in 2025.
Conclusion
As Major League Soccer continues to grow it becomes surprising when its club sells their best players.
Competition for the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup is extremely strong and clubs would have been hoping to keep hold of their key assets.
The sales of Hernandez and Torres have left high quality sides without their talisman, whilst three sides aiming to improve and close the gap are now missing important assets.