Major League Soccer announced on Thursday that FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi won the 2021 MLS Young Player of the Year award. The award is given to the league’s best player under 22 and is voted on by MLS media, coaches, and current MLS players.
The 18-year-old Pepi is well-deserving of the award as he burst onto the scene with a record-breaking 2021 season for his professional club and national team.
Pepi received 39% of the vote edging out the New England Revolution’s Tajon Buchanan, who received 31% of votes.
Pepi grew up in El Paso and moved 600 miles east to Frisco to join the FC Dallas Youth Soccer Academy at the age of 13. He was a star in the youth leagues and moved quickly through the ranks.
Pepi signed his first professional contract at 15 with FC Dallas’ United Soccer League affiliate, the North Texas Soccer Club (NTSC). Not even a year into his time at NTSC, he was called up to the MLS and signed a deal with FC Dallas at age 16 to finish the 2019 season.
Pepi spent his first two seasons playing sparingly and only had two goals coming into this season. However, Pepi got the opportunity for substantial playing time in the 2021 campaign, and he more than capitalized on it. Pepi led FC Dallas with 13 goals and three assists this season.
His 13 goals tie the all-time single-season record for most goals scored by a teenager in MLS history. Pepi’s signature performance of the year was when he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick at 18 years old in a 4-0 victory over the LA Galaxy.
Pepi’s list of accolades also includes two MLS Player of the Week awards and being named to the 2021 MLS All-Star team, in which he scored the game-winning penalty kick against the LIGA MX All-Stars. He was also ranked number one in MLS Soccer’s 2021 22 Under 22.
Pepi followed his success at FC Dallas with success on the U.S. national soccer team. Being born in El Paso to Mexican parents, Pepi decided between representing the U.S. or Mexican national teams this year. In his youth days, Pepi attended soccer camps conducted by both nations.
On August 26, 2021, his choice became official when Pepi was named to the U.S. National Team’s roster for qualifying games for the 2022 World Cup. He made his debut on September 8 against Honduras and sparked a victory when he scored the go-ahead goal and notched two assists in a 4-1 U.S. win. He was selected again on October 7th, and Pepi scored both goals in a 2-0 U.S. win over Jamaica.
Due to his impressive performances at a young age, Pepi will inevitably join a more prominent European soccer club in this January’s transfer window, which could considerably boost his development.
In October, Pepi submitted a request for transfer to another club following reported interest from world-famous teams such as Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg from the German Bundesliga and Liverpool and Manchester United from the English Premier League.
