Major League Soccer has announced that FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira has been named the 2022 MLS Young Player of the Year.
The award honors the top player in the league age 22 and under, and was instated in 2020 to replace the Rookie of the Year award.
Ferreira had a prolific 2022 season, scoring 18 goals to tie the FC Dallas single-season record. With none of those goals coming from the spot, Ferreira was also tied for the MLS lead in non-penalty goals in 2022.
The striker topped fellow finalists Thiago Almada of Atlanta United and Brenner of FC Cincinnati.
The 21-year-old is the second straight FCD player to win the award after Ricardo Pepi earned the honor in 2021.
The ex-teammates at club level could be reunited on the USMNT World Cup roster, with Ferreira looking to be a near-lock while Pepi is battling for another of Gregg Berhalter’s striker spots.
Media vote puts Ferreira over the top
Ferreira earned 32.4% of the total vote for the award, with the votes split between MLS club technical staffs, media, and current MLS players. Almada came in second with 17.27% and Brenner was third with 8.17%.
Almada actually topped Ferreira among players and technical staffs but the media pushed the FCD striker over the edge, giving him a whopping 58.5% of the vote compared to less than 10% for both Almada and Brenner.
Ferreira and FC Dallas got past Minnesota United in their playoff opener Monday night, setting up a Western Conference semifinal showdown against in-state rival Austin FC.
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