RENTON, WASH. – Major League Soccer today announced its 2025 Best XI, with Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan being named to the list for the first time in his career. Part of the league’s annual year-end awards slate, MLS Best XI recognizes the league’s top players at each position as determined by members of the media, MLS players and MLS club technical staffs. One of six first-time honorees this year, Roldan becomes the 11th different Sounder to be named to a Best XI list and 14th overall selection in club history. 2025 marks the ninth year in 17 seasons that Seattle has had at least one player on the list.
Roldan, 30, is part of a trio of midfielders on this year’s list, joining Vancouver’s Sebastian Berhalter and Cincinnati’s Evander. He solidified himself as a dominant force in Seattle’s defensive midfield in 2025, scoring one goal while adding nine assists, the latter his highest single-season total since 2018 and second on the team to Albert Rusnák’s 10. Roldan started 30 of his 31 regular-season appearances, leading the team in completed passes (1,849) with an 89 percent completion percentage. Pulling the strings in the midfield, the University of Washington product was second on the team with 35 key passes in a year that saw the Rave Green set a new high in single-season total goal contributions (131) and assists (73). Leading the team with 2,633 minutes, his efforts helped Seattle reach the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the 16th time in 17 seasons, the most postseason appearances by any team since Sounders FC joined MLS in 2009 and the most by any expansion team in league history.
Outside of league play, Roldan stood out during a historic 2025 campaign in which Sounders FC faced three continental champions – Cruz Azul (2025 Concacaf Champions Cup), Botafogo (2024 Copa Libertadores) and Paris Saint Germain (2024-25 UEFA Champions League). He played every minute of the club’s three matches during this summer’s FIFA World Cup 2025™, scoring a goal against South American champion Botafogo before battling European giants Atlético Madrid and PSG. Later in the summer, Roldan appeared in all six of Seattle’s Leagues Cup 2025 fixtures, tallying two assists as Sounders FC captured its first Leagues Cup title and became the first team in U.S. soccer history to win every major competition (Concacaf Champions Cup, MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup).
His efforts this season earned callups to the United States Men’s National Team during both the September and October FIFA windows, his first international selections under Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino. Roldan played in all four USMNT friendlies during the two windows, including an impressive two-assist performance in a 2-1 win over Australia (October 15).
With Seattle and Minnesota tied at one game apiece in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series, the two sides meet for a decisive Game 3 on Saturday, November 8 at Allianz Field (1:00 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM). The winner of Saturday's match advances to the Western Conference Semifinals against either San Diego FC or the Portland Timbers, who face-off in Game 3 of their Round One series on Sunday, November 9.
2025 MLS BEST XI
GOALKEEPER: Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC)
DEFENDERS: Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Alex Freeman (Orlando City SC), Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union), Kai Wagner (Philadelphia Union)
MIDFIELDERS: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Evander (FC Cincinnati), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC)
FORWARDS: Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Andres Dreyer (San Diego FC), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
SOUNDERS FC ALL-TIME MLS BEST XI SELECTIONS
2025: Cristian Roldan
2024: Yeimar Gómez Andrade
2021: João Paulo, Raúl Ruidíaz, Yeimar Gómez Andrade
2020: Nicolás Lodeiro, Jordan Morris, Raúl Ruidíaz
2018: Chad Marshall
2014: Chad Marshall, Obafemi Martins
2012: Osvaldo Alonso
2011: Kasey Keller
2009: Freddie Ljungberg
