Major League Soccer's history may not go back as far as most other leagues, but American and Canadian soccer have already seen many memorable teams provide many memorable moments with trophies on the line.
MLS Cup is the league's top trophy, even with the rise in importance of the Supporters' Shield over the years. At the end of it all, a full season comes down to just one final game: the MLS Cup final.
With the introduction of seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi to the league with Inter Miami, MLS has seen a major spike in viewership. Following the Argentine's heroics with the club in the 2023 Leagues Cup, the Herons won a Supporters’ Shield last season but came up just short in 2025 - but with a chance to win their first-ever MLS Cup - just as their opponents in the MLS Cup final, Vancouver Whitecaps.
With a new MLS Cup winner in the waiting, GOAL takes a look at the winners through the history of the tournament.
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All MLS Cup final results
| Year | Winners | Runners-Up | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | DC United | LA Galaxy | D.C. United 3-2 LA Galaxy | Mario Etchevvery |
| 1997 | DC United | Colorado Rapids | D.C. United 2-1 Colorado Rapids | Jaime Moreno |
| 1998 | Chicago Fire | DC United | Chicago Fire 2-0 D.C. United | Petr Nowak |
| 1999 | DC United | LA Galaxy | D.C. United 2-0 LA Galaxy | Ben Olsen |
| 2000 | Kansas City Wizards | Chicago Fire | Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Chicago Fire | Tony Meola |
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes | LA Galaxy | San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 LA Galaxy | Dwayne De Rosario |
| 2002 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 1 -0 New England Revolution | Carlos Ruiz |
| 2003 | San Jose Earthquakes | Chicago Fire | San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 Chicago Fire | Landon Donovan |
| 2004 | DC United | Kansas City Wizards | D.C. United 3-2 Kansas City Wizards | Alecko Eskandaraian |
| 2005 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 1 -0 New England Revolution | Guillermo Ramirez |
| 2006 | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo 1 (4)-(3) 1 LA Galaxy | Brian Ching |
| 2007 | Houston Dynamo | New England Revolution | Houston Dynamo 2-1 New England Revolution | Dwayne De Rosario |
| 2008 | Columbus Crew | New York Red Bulls | Columbus Crew 3-1 New York Red Bulls | Guillermo Barros Schelotto |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake | LA Galaxy | Real Salt Lake 1 (5) - (4) 1 LA Galaxy | Nick Rimando |
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids | FC Dallas | Colorado Rapids 2-1 FC Dallas | Conor Casey |
| 2011 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo | Landon Donovan |
| 2012 | LA Galaxy | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy 3-1 Houston Dynamo | Omar Gonzalez |
| 2013 | Sporting KC | Real Salt Lake | Sporting KC 1 (7) - (6) 1 Real Salt Lake | Aurelien Collin |
| 2014 | LA Galaxy | New England Revolution | LA Galaxy 2-1 New England Revolution | Robbie Keane |
| 2015 | Portland Timbers | Columbus Crew | Portland Timbers 2 -1 Columbus Crew | Diego Valeri |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders 0 (5) - (4) 0 Toronto FC | Stefan Frei |
| 2017 | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC 2-0 Seattle Sounders | Jozy Altidore |
| 2018 | Atlanta United | Portland Timbers | Atlanta United 2-0 Portland Timbers | Josef Martinez |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders | Toronto FC | Seattle Sounders 3-1 Toronto FC | Victor Rodriguez |
| 2020 | Columbus Crew | Seattle Sounders | Columbus Crew 3-0 Seattle Sounders | Lucas Zelarayan |
| 2021 | New York City FC | Portland Timbers | New York City FC 1 (4) - (2) 1 Portland Timbers | Sean Johnson |
| 2022 | Los Angeles FC | Philadelphia Union | LAFC 3 (3) - (0) 3 Philadelphia Union | John McCarthy |
| 2023 | Columbus Crew | Los Angeles FC | Columbus Crew 2-1 Los Angeles FC | Cucho Hernandez |
| 2024 | LA Galaxy | New York Red Bulls | LA Galaxy 2-1 New York Red Bulls | Gaston Brugman |
| 2025 | TBD | TBD | Inter Miami - Vancouver Whitecaps | TBD |
MLS Cup wins by club
| Club | MLS Cups |
|---|---|
| LA Galaxy | 6 (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2024) |
| D.C. United | 4 (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004) |
| Columbus Crew | 3 (2008, 2020, 2023) |
| Houston Dynamo | 2 (2006, 2007) |
| Seattle Sounders | 2 (2016, 2019) |
| Sporting KC | 2 (2000, 2013) |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2 (2001, 2003) |
| Chicago Fire | 1 (1998) |
| Portland Timbers | 1 (2015) |
| Toronto FC | 1 (2017) |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 (2009) |
| Colorado Rapids | 1 (2010) |
| LAFC | 1 (2022) |
| Atlanta United | 1 (2018) |
| New York City FC | 1 (2021) |