Five Liverpool players who ended up in the MLS

Liverpool Football Club is one of the most iconic clubs in the UK. The team has a long-standing legacy that dates back over 125 years, and some of its players have become legendary figures within British football.

The team has won an impressive 19 league titles, 6 European Cups, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 2 Women’s Super League Titles, 8 FA Cups, and 9 League Cups.

Liverpool’s incredible successes have earned them a strong reputation as one of Europe’s top clubs, producing great players such as Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard, who have etched their names into world football folklore. 

Their passionate fans are widely recognized for creating an unparalleled atmosphere at Anfield on match days.

Some Liverpool players have also had their impact in the USA by playing for some of the MLS clubs. So let’s remember five Reds players who went through the North American league.

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard is an icon of the Liverpool Football Club. He is perhaps the most beloved player in recent years for his leadership and commitment to the team. Known affectionately as “Captain Fantastic,” Gerrard has proudly worn the Liverpool jersey since 1998, when he debuted with the first team.

During his 17-year career with Liverpool, Gerrard was known for his inspirational leadership, passion for victory, and unwavering loyalty to the team. His memorable moments include a stunning last-minute goal against Olympiacos that helped keep their Champions League hopes alive in 2004. About this goal against Olympiacos, he told The Independent in 2013: “When you are in that position, and one falls for you, it’s make or break at that moment.

Luckily for me, it was one of the sweetest strikes I have ever hit. Just such a relief to see the net go.

If I had to pick my favorite goal for connection and also the reaction of the crowd - that's the one.”

Gerard also captained Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005. But in 2015.

But in 2015, and after an impressive 710-game Anfield career, the player left the team and moved to Los Angeles Galaxy.

His time at the Galaxy was relatively short, and he made just 39 appearances for the Californian side-scoring five goals and providing 15 assists.

Djimi Traore

Djimi Traore is part of the 2005 Champions League winning generation; he was a key part of the club’s success that year and played in the grand final.

But his time at Anfield is most remembered for a comic own goal against Burnley that meant Liverpool’s elimination from the FA Cup.

The Mali native had 141 appearances for the Reds, and in 2006 he left the club.

In 2013 he signed with the Seattle Sounders, where he played 50 games and is remembered for scoring a 30-yard volley in a CONCACAF Champions League game.

Traore joined the Sounders’ coaching staff as the club’s assistant manager. But he left office in August 2021 and is now a coach at the Ghanaian Football Academy’s Right to Dream.

Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane arrived at Anfield in 2008 after a long and successful career with Tottenham, where he scored 80 goals and was primarily responsible for the club’s attack.

Expectations were high for Keane at Liverpool, who were still looking for a striker to fill the void left by Michael Owen.

But the Irishman failed to find the best form for himself, and after a disappointing six months, he returned to the Hotspurs.

In 2011 and after passing through West Ham and Celtic of Scotland, he decided to move to MLS and join LA Galaxy.

With the Californian club, Keane had one of the best moments of his career, scoring 105 goals in 170 games, winning three MLS Cups, and bagging a series of league MVP awards.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri joined Liverpool in 2018 and made 45 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals. But the Swiss midfielder did not fit into Jurgen Klopp’s plans, and in the summer of 2021, the club released the player so he could look for a new club.

The player reached an agreement with Olympique de Lyon, but the French club sought to get rid of him only four months after his arrival.

Shaqiri would go on to join the MLS club Chicago Fire, where in the 2022 season, he scored seven goals in 29 appearances.

Roy Evans

Roy Evans joined Liverpool in 1963 and is a club legend.

Evans spent his entire life with Liverpool, but in the summer of 1973, he had a brief stint in the North American Soccer League with the Philadelphia Atoms, a club for which he made 19 appearances and scored two goals.

“We ended up winning the league and becoming the first rookie team to win a national championship in the USA in any sport,” Evan’s recalled to LFChistory.net.

Liverpool manager Bill Shankly saw potential in Evans off the pitch and suggested he pursue a career as a coach.

Evans would become manager of Liverpool from 1994 to 1998.

Liverpool is a global phenomenon.

Liverpool is today a global brand known in all corners of the planet.

The club has gained wide popularity in the US because most bookmakers offer betting options for almost all the club’s games, as is the case with Caesars Ohio, which also offers different promotions.

The club is also widely known because the Fenway Sports Group is the majority owner. Among the group’s shareholders is LeBron James owning 2% and who, on several occasions, has been seen wearing the club’s official jersey.

Written by Alan Spencer