A look at the youngest players in the MLS
Author: Robert Bell
The Youngest of All-Time – Freddy Adu
Born in Ghana, Freddy Adu was regarded as potentially one of the best players of all time when we broke through. Drafted by D.C. United in 2004 as the number one pick at the age of 14, he was the youngest athlete to ever sign a professional contract with an America team.
Just to put into perspective, the youngest NBA player ever was 18 years old. So, the MLS signing a player 4 years younger than that was quite a statement. In the same way Freddy became the youngest player to appear in the MLS and then the youngest scorer in the league.
Despite showing such incredible promise at a young age, there is a feeling that perhaps Adu never quite had the career that he had promised to have. He played for more than a dozen teams spread across 9 countries, as well as being linked regularly with huge clubs like Manchester United and Inter Milan and a return home to the MLS.
Adu is currently listed as a free agent, having last played in Sweden. He was released by Osterlen in 2021, with the Swedish club’s vice-chairman stating that Adu lacked the physical aspect needed. It seems like an age since Freddy Adu was first talked about as the next big thing, but at the time of writing he is aged 32 and there has to be serious doubts about whether he will get another chance as a pro soccer player.
The Second-Youngest of All Time – Alphonso Davies
Alphonso Davies is now a star for German giants Bayern Munich, but he started his career in the MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He was born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana, before the family eventually moved to Canada.
At the time of signing for the Whitecaps, in 2016, he was the youngest player in the USL league, and he then went on to become the first player born in the 2000s to play in the MLS. Davies then become the youngest player to play in the Canadian national team and the youngest to score for them too.
His career then took him to Bayern Munich, where he became their youngest goal-scorer in a couple of decades. He has cemented his place as one of the sport’s top talents and became the first Canadian international player to win the Champion’s League. It seems certain that we hear a lot more about Alphonso Davies in the years to come.
The Third-Youngest of All Time – Obed Vargas
2021 has seen a new name added to the list of the youngest players in the history of the MLS. Obed Vargas was born in Alaska and joined the Seattle Sounders before playing for their affiliate team Tacoma Defiance.
In July 2021, he was called up for the Sounders at the age of 15 years and 351 days old, making him about 3 months older than Alphonso Davies was when he made his MLS debut. Vargas was one of 5 teenagers called up for a game against Austin FC, due to a large number of regulars being unavailable.
The Sounders won the game, with a goal from Raul Ruidiaz. As for Vargas, he has citizenship of both the US and Mexico, where his father grew up, and it will be interesting to see which national team the player chooses if he continues to progress.
Having said that, he has already taken part in an under-15 camp for the US national team, so it seems most likely that he plays for the American team.