USMNT Star Christian Pulisic Heading to Major League Soccer Would Be a Game Changer

The best American player of his generation has never played professionally in his own country.

Could Christian Pulisic return home this summer? | Tiziano Ballabio/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Christian Pulisic has never played professional soccer in the United States, but New York City FC has curiously emerged as a club who would try to change that in the wake of the home World Cup.

Pulisic has reached a potential crossroad in his career, aged 27 and about to enter the final year of his contract with AC Milan. The Serie A giant does hold a 12-month option to extend through 2028, but that contract situation is an open door for teams to inquire about the forward’s availability.

News of interest from NYCFC has been reported by The Athletic.

For now, Milan’s position is that the American is not for sale. The club has been through significant changes in recent months, firing manager Massimiliano Allegri and the three most senior executives following a disappointing end to the 2025–26 Serie A season.

Pulisic, like many in the team, got stuck on a cold streak, and he didn’t score at all in red and black in 2026. Milan was leapfrogged by Como on the final day and missed qualifying for the Champions League. But hiring former Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim signals a new era that the club seemingly expects Pulisic to part of. The player himself is “solely focused” on the World Cup and it appears hasn’t yet given much consideration to what his club future will look like.

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The Greatest Ever American Player in MLS?

Pulisic has only played pro soccer in Europe. | Image Photo Agency/Getty Images

Although Pulisic briefly lived in England as a child and later had a trial with Chelsea, his landing point in Europe at the age of 15 was Germany. He signed with Borussia Dortmund a few months after his 16th birthday and was 17 when he played in the Bundesliga for the first time.

It meant bypassing MLS or any other senior soccer in America completely.

Tempting him to the league now, in his prime—whether to join NYCFC or another team—would be an enormous coup given his status as the face of the national team.

Given that club soccer is still very much dominated by Europe, the best American players don’t usually play in MLS, certainly not at the peak of their career.

Tim Howard was 24 when he left and 37 when he returned. Clint Dempsey moved overseas at age 24 and returned home at 30, spending his prime in England. It’s a similar story with plenty of others based in Europe in the current USMNT: Tyler Adams, Ricardo Pepi, Brenden Aaronson, etc.

Some like, Chris Richards, Weston McKennie, Giovanni Reyna and Pulisic, didn’t even make it to MLS before earning a pro contract in Europe instead.

Pulisic has the potential to change the way MLS is viewed by even American players, and potentially to rival Landon Donovan as the greatest American in the league’s history. No longer does it have to be a stepping stone to bigger things. It could become the destination.

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