Major League Soccer today announced LAFC forward Denis Bouanga as a member of the 2024 MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire, which recognizes the league’s top players at each position as determined by members of the media, MLS players, and MLS club technical staffs.
This is the second time Bouanga has been selected to the MLS Best XI in his two full seasons in the league. He was also honored in 2023 when he won the Golden Boot award as the top scorer in MLS. This year, he became just the fourth player in league history to record back-to-back 20-goal seasons, and is one of only five players in MLS history to record multiple 20-plus-goal seasons.
Bouanga led LAFC this season with 28 goals and 16 assists in 48 games across all competitions, including 20 goals and 11 assists in MLS regular season play, while leading the league in shots (157), shots on goal (64) and xG (21.28). Since the start of 2023, Bouanga has scored a total of 66 goals in all competitions in 96 total games.
This year, Bouanga joined Carlos Vela (49 in 2019) as the only two players in club history to produce at least 30 goal contributions in MLS play in a single season. His league-leading nine game-winning goals in 2024 made him one of only six players in MLS history with nine game winners in a single season.
Since 2018, five different LAFC players have received the MLS Best XI honor, earning a total of seven selections.
- 2024, 2023 – Forward Denis Bouanga
- 2022, 2019, 2018 – Forward Carlos Vela
- 2020 – Forward Diego Rossi
- 2019 – Midfielder Eduard Atuesta
- 2019 - Defender Walker Zimmerman
The 2024 MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire features seven first-time honorees and includes players from eight different countries and nine different MLS clubs.
2024 MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire
- Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte FC)
- Defenders: Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF), Yeimar Gómez Andrade (Seattle Sounders FC), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew)
- Midfielders: Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Evander (Portland Timbers), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy)
- Forwards: Christian Benteke (D.C. United), Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
