Tottenham Hotspur and South Korea superstar Heung-Min Son is reportedly set to become Major League Soccer’s next blockbuster Designated Player, joining Los Angeles FC on a multi-year deal. He’ll be the latest face of the franchise, following Carlos Vela, Gareth Bale, Olivier Giroud, and current standout Denis Bouanga. Time will tell if the 33-year-old’s brilliance translates to MLS – a league where big-name signings have both flourished and flopped since the introduction of the DP rule.
Dubbed the “Beckham Rule,” the DP mechanism was originally created so the LA Galaxy could sign the England icon. It’s since become a cornerstone of MLS roster building, allowing stars like Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, David Villa, Ricardo Kaká, and Luis Nani to join the league.
Not all DPs have hit, but those who have? They’ve helped transform the league.
Lionel Messi is the most historic DP signing to date, but the past five years have seen multiple success stories that elevated players, clubs, and coaches alike.
From the Argentine legend to Bouanga, former Columbus Crew ace Cucho Hernández, and the mercurial Emanuel Reynoso, GOAL highlights the 10 most successful DP signings since 2020.
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Getty Images Sport10Emanuel Reynoso, Minnesota United
This inclusion might raise an eyebrow as Reynoso is not a household in MLS, but his contributions on the pitch will be long remembered.
He was an enigma on the pitch for Minnesota United while at the club – a proper magician on the pitch who made something happen that made fans go “how the h*ll did he do that?!”
The Argentine was the first real star to don the Loons crest after joining the club as a DP in the fall of 2020. In his debut campaign, Reynoso bagged seven assists in 13 matches played, while the club went unbeaten in 12 of them with him on the pitch; he changed the trajectory of the Western Conference side to make them modern-day contenders.
During the 2020 MLS playoffs, he recorded six assists in two matches, making league history by doing so, while either scoring or assisting in ALL eight goals Minnesota scored during that postseason run. And in 2022, he led the club in goals scored, which led to his first All-Star nomination. Yet, there were also challenges for the winger.
In 2023, he missed five months of the season due to “personal issues” in Argentina, after failure to report to preseason training camp which resulted in a league suspension. He was cleared to play in May of that year by the league. In 2024, he left during the March international break to attend a Green Card appointment in Argentina, but never attended it. He remained in Argentina for seven weeks and did not return to play for the club. He was transferred to Tijuana in Liga MX in May, 2024.
It was a shambolic ending to a truly magical run from a talented player, who, for a glimpse, looked like a superstar in the making. A proper Streets Won’t Forget MLS footballer – for multiple reasons.
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