FRISCO, Texas (Nov. 2, 2022) – Major League Soccer’s 2022 Young Player of the Year and FC Dallas Homegrown Jesús Ferreira was named to MLS’ 2022 Best XI presented by Continental Tire. Ferreira is the first FC Dallas player to earn MLS Best XI honors since Mauro Díaz and Matt Hedges earned the honor in 2016.
Ferreira is the fourth player since 2010 to be selected to the Best XI at 21 years or younger after tying the club’s single-season record with 18 goals, alongside former MLS Best XI members Kenny Cooper (18 in 2008) and Jason Kreis (18 in 1999). His 18 goals this season were the third most by a player prior to turning 22 years old, behind only Stern John (26 in 1998) and Mamadou Diallo (22 in 2000). Ferreira and his father David, the 2010 MLS Most Valuable Player with Dallas, become the first father-son duo to each be named to MLS Best XI teams.
“I'm excited. Obviously, these are goals that I wouldn't be able to achieve without my teammates,” Jesús Ferreira said. “But I'm excited that I can be named in the best XI of the league. That's another award that I take with me for next season and hopefully next season, I can keep working hard to make that best XI again and keep achieving other things. I'm just excited to be able to be on that top XI.”
Ferreira also topped MLS’ 22 Under 22 list in September, was named to the 2022 MLS All-Star Team, was MLS Player of the Week for Week 4 and earned MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week honors on four occasions this season. He was the second Dallas player to win the MLS Young Player of the Year award after Ricardo Pepi earned the honor in 2021.
The Best XI – recognizing the league’s top players at each position as determined by media, MLS players, and MLS club technical staffs – features the league’s most exciting talent. Representing seven nations and six clubs – all of which qualified for the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs – this group of 11 stars features six players who were selected to their first Best XI.
“Every season we want to be better,” Ferreira said. “For me, my road has been a little difficult with 2020 been a rough year for me with only one goal scored, and then going back to 2021 where I can say that I broke out. Then this year was the best year of my career. It's exciting to see that I can keep improving each year. I'm excited that I can achieve things this year that I didn't know I could achieve before. I'm just excited that I can do things right and achieve objective personal goals that I have set for myself.”
2022 MLS Best XI Presented by Continental Tire
Goalkeeper: Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
Defenders: Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union), Kai Wagner (Philadelphia Union), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielders: Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Sebastián Driussi (Austin FC), Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)
Forwards: Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Brandon Vázquez (FC Cincinnati), Carlos Vela (LAFC)
About Continental Tire the Americas
Based in Fort Mill, S.C., Continental Tire the Americas, LLC manufactures and distributes a complete premium line of passenger, light truck and commercial tires for original equipment and replacement markets. Our ultra-high, performance tires include award-winning technologies that focus on safety, help save money, and reduce CO2 emissions. Continental’s premium products are available at leading independent tire dealers, car dealers, and mass retail companies across North America. Continental Tire is a proud supporter of Major League Soccer (MLS), College Basketball, West Coast Customs, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, Petty’s Garage, ROUSH Performance, Stadium Super Trucks, Universal Technical Institute, BMW Performance Driving Centers, and the AMG Driving Academy.
