The 2021 Seattle Sounders FC season was the club's thirty-eighth year of existence, and their thirteenth season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, the top flight of American soccer. The team was under the management of

Brian Schmetzer Brian Thomas Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and former professional player. He is the head coach of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's depa ...

in his fifth full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders. Seattle were the reigning Western Conference champions and lost to

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...

in the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

3–0. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the capacity of

Lumen Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League ...

was limited to 7,000 in March and increase in stages. The stadium's full capacity was restored in July with the addition of

COVID-19 testing COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the viru ...

and vaccination requirements. The Sounders finished second in the Western Conference and qualified for the

2022 CONCACAF Champions League The 2022 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup under its former name, and overall the 57th edition of the premier Association football, football club ...

as a result. They were also runners-up in the

2021 Leagues Cup The 2021 Leagues Cup was the second edition of the Leagues Cup organized by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX. The tournament was originally planned to include sixteen teams but was later reduced to eight teams. The 2020 edition of the tou ...

, losing to

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

in the final.

Background

The Sounders lost the

Mapfre Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 u ...

3–0. The team is set to play in the

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

, along with regular MLS and

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

matches.

Summary

The Sounders released or traded several key players, including six who were at the MLS Cup, during the 2020–21 offseason as part of roster moves. The team began their preseason training camp at

Starfire Sports Starfire Sports is a multi-purpose stadium and sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, United States. It is located on the banks of the Green River (Duwamish River), Green River, just south of Seattle. The stadium is operated by the nonprofit ...

in late March and played scrimmages against their USL affiliate,

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

, and the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. A third match against

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. They won the league championship in 2023, defeating the ...

was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 among their players. The Sounders were scheduled to continue their preseason in the Los Angeles area, playing friendlies against USL clubs

LA Galaxy II Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league sy ...

and San Diego Loyal, but remained in Seattle. The team won two friendlies on April 10 against San Diego at

, which was open to 200 healthcare workers in attendance. Coach

switched the team from their traditional 4–2–3–1

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

to a 3–5–2 or a 3–4–1–2 to address several roster issues, namely the absence of

Jordan Morris Jordan Perry Morris (born October 26, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger or forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the United States national team. He grew up on Mercer Island, Washingto ...

and

Nicolás Lodeiro Marcelo Nicolás Lodeiro Benítez (; born 21 March 1989), commonly known as Nicolás Lodeiro, is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo FC, Houst ...

due to injuries. The Sounders opened the MLS season by winning or drawing in their first 13 matches—setting an MLS record for the longest unbeaten streak to open a season. A reduced capacity of 7,000 seats was permitted for home matches at Lumen Field; the tickets were primarily distributed to existing

season ticket A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 18 ...

holders.

Final roster

Out on loan

Competitions

Preseason

Major League Soccer

League tables

=Western Conference

=Overall

Results

MLS Cup Playoffs

Leagues Cup

U.S. Open Cup

Statistics

Appearances and goals

''Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.'' , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Goalkeepers , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Defenders , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Midfielders , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Forwards , - ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Players transferred/loaned out during the season '' AC' – Defiance player

Top scorers

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" , - !width=30, Rank !width=30, Position !width=30, Number !width=175, Name !width=75, !width=75, !width=75, !width=75, !width=75, Total , - , 1 , FW , 9 , align="left",

Raúl Ruidíaz Raúl Mario Ruidíaz Misitich (; born 25 July 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Atlético Grau in the Peruvian Primera División. His nickname, "The Flea", stems from his small frame and his ability to get ...

, 17 , 0 , 0 , 2 , 19 , - , rowspan="1", 2 , FW , 12 , align="left",

Fredy Montero Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz (born 26 July 1987), known as Fredy Montero (, is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Real Cartagena. He was the all-time top scorer for the Seattle Sounders until being surpassed by Ra� ...

, 7 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 8 , - , rowspan="1", 3 , MF , 7 , align="left",

Cristian Roldan Cristian Roldan (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Roldan was the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year while playing for El Rancho Hig ...

, 6 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 7 , - , rowspan="2", 4 , MF , 20 , align="left",

Nicolas Benezet Nicolas Benezet (born 24 February 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Olympique Alès. Club career France Born in Montpellier, Benezet played in the youth academy of Montpellier before signing with ...

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 4 , - , DF , 94 , align="left", Jimmy Medranda , 4 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 4 , - , rowspan="3", 6 , MF , 6 , align="left", João Paulo , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , DF , 11 , align="left", Brad Smith , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , FW , 17 , align="left",

Will Bruin William Christopher Bruin (born October 24, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Bruin spent six seasons playing for the Houston Dynamo FC, Housto ...

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , rowspan="1", 9 , DF , 3 , align="left", Xavier Arreaga , 2 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , rowspan="6", 10 , MF , 10 , align="left",

, 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 , - , DF , 16 , align="left", Alex Roldan , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , MF , 22 , align="left",

Kelyn Rowe Kelyn Jaynes Rowe (born December 2, 1991) is an American former professional and current semi-professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder. Early life Rowe grew up in Federal Way, Washington. He attended Federal Way High School, becomi ...

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , MF , 23 , align="left", Léo Chú , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , DF , 27 , align="left", Shane O'Neill , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , DF , 28 , align="left", Yeimar Gómez Andrade , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , -

Top assists

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 2 , 3 , - , DF , 11 , align="left", Brad Smith , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , FW , 12 , align="left",

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , DF , 16 , align="left", Alex Roldan , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , DF , 94 , align="left", Jimmy Medranda , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 3 , - , rowspan="1", 7 , FW , 17 , align="left",

, 2 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 , - , rowspan="4", 8 , DF , 5 , align="left", Nouhou , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , FW , 9 , align="left",

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , MF , 84 , align="left",

Josh Atencio Joshua Ryan Atencio ( ; born January 31, 2002) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the United States men's national soccer team, United State ...

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , -

Disciplinary record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - , rowspan="2" !width=15, , rowspan="2" !width=15, , rowspan="2" !width=120, Player , colspan="3", MLS , colspan="3", U.S. Open Cup , colspan="3", MLS Playoffs , colspan="3", Leagues Cup , colspan="3", Total , - !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#ff8888;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#ff8888;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#ff8888;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#ff8888;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#fe9;, !width=34; background:#ff8888;, , - , - , , 3 , , , DF , , align=left, Xavier Arreaga , , , 5, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 5, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 5 , , , DF , , align=left, Nouhou , , , 2, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 2, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 6 , , , MF , , align=left, João Paulo , , , 5, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 5, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 7 , , , MF , , align=left,

, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 8 , , , MF , , align=left, Jordy Delem , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 9 , , , FW , , align=left,

, , , 4, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 4, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 10 , , , MF , , align=left,

, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 11 , , , DF , , align=left, Brad Smith , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 16 , , , DF , , align=left, Alex Roldan , , , 2, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 2, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 22 , , , MF , , align=left,

, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 27 , , , DF , , align=left, Shane O'Neill , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 28 , , , DF , , align=left, Yeimar Gómez Andrade , , , 4, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 4, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 45 , , , MF , , align=left, Ethan Dobbelaere , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 75 , , , MF , , align=left, Danny Leyva , , , 3, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 3, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 84 , , , MF , , align=left,

, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 94 , , , DF , , align=left, Jimmy Medranda , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , , 98 , , , FW , , align=left,

Samuel Adeniran Samuel Oluwabukunmi Adeniran (born September 30, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Austrian club LASK. Youth career Early career Adeniran began his soccer career playing in Houston area youth clubs, inc ...

'' AC' , , , 1, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 0, , , 1, , , 0, , , 0 , - , - !colspan=3, Total !!33!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!2!!0!!0!!35!!0!!0

Honors and awards

MLS Team of the Week

{, class=wikitable , - !Week !Player !Opponent !Position !Ref , - , align=center rowspan="2", 1 ,

, rowspan="2",

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

, FW , rowspan="2", , - ,

, Bench , - , align=center rowspan="1", 2 , Brad Smith , rowspan="1",

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

, DF , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="2", 3 ,

, rowspan="2",

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

, FW , rowspan="2", , - , Brad Smith , DF , - , - , align=center rowspan="1", 4 ,

, rowspan="1",

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="4", 5 , Xavier Arreaga , rowspan="4",

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

, DF , rowspan="4", , - , Alex Roldan , DF , - ,

, MF , - ,

, Coach , - , align=center rowspan="1", 6 , Nouhou , rowspan="1",

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="1", 8 , Yeimar Gomez Andrade , rowspan="1",

, DF , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="1", 9 ,

, rowspan="1",

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

, MF , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="1", 10 , João Paulo , rowspan="1",

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="1", 11 , Alex Roldan , rowspan="1",

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="2", 12 , João Paulo , rowspan="2",

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, MF , rowspan="2", , - ,

, Bench , - , - , align=center rowspan="2", 14 , ''

'' , rowspan="2",

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

, FW , rowspan="2", , - ,

, DF , - , align=center rowspan="1", 17 , João Paulo , rowspan="1",

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="2", 19 , ''

'' , rowspan="2",

, FW , rowspan="2", , - ,

, Bench , - , align=center rowspan="1", 20 , ''

'' , rowspan="1",

, FW , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="2", 21 , Xavier Arreaga , rowspan="2",

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, DF , rowspan="2", , - , João Paulo , Bench , - , align=center rowspan="2", 24 , João Paulo , rowspan="2",

, MF , rowspan="2", , - ,

Stefan Frei Stefan Frei (born 20 April 1986) is a Swiss professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Born in Switzerland, Frei moved with his fam ...

, Bench , - , align=center rowspan="1", 27 , João Paulo , rowspan="1",

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

, MF , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="3", 28 ,

, rowspan="3",

, MF , rowspan="3", , - ,

, FW , - , Yeimar Gómez Andrade , Bench , - , - , align=center rowspan="2", 29 ,

, rowspan="2",

, MF , rowspan="2", , - , João Paulo , MF , - , align=center rowspan="1", 31 , Léo Chú , rowspan="1",

, MF , rowspan="1", , - , align=center rowspan="1", 34 ,

, rowspan="1",

, Bench , rowspan="1", , - ''Italics'' indicates MLS Player of the Week

MLS Goal of the Week

{, class=wikitable , - !Week !Player !Opponent !Ref , - , align=center , 1 , João Paulo ,

, style="text-align: center;", , - , align=center , 5 ,

, style="text-align: center;", , - , align=center , 14 ,

, style="text-align: center;", , - , align=center , 19 , Jimmy Medranda ,

, style="text-align: center;", , - , align=center , 20 ,

, style="text-align: center;", , - , align=center , 29 , João Paulo ,

, style="text-align: center;", , -

MLS Save of the Year

{, class=wikitable , - !Player !Opponent !Ref , - ,

, , -

MLS Best XI

{, class=wikitable , - !Player !Position !Ref , - ,

, Forward , , - , João Paulo , Midfielder , , - , Yeimar Gómez Andrade , Defender , , -

Transfers

For transfers in, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially signed the players to the roster. Transactions where only the rights to the players are acquired are not listed. For transfers out, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially removed the players from its roster, not when they signed with another club. If a player later signed with another club, his new club will be noted, but the date listed here remains the one when he was officially removed from Sounders FC roster.

In

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="width:95%; text-align:center; font-size:95%; text-align:left;" , - !No. !Pos. !Player !Transferred from !Fee/notes !Date !Source , - , align=center, 6 , align=center, , ,

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

, Undisclosed , , , - , align=center, 11 , align=center, , ,

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, Free Transfer , , , - , align=center, 18 , align=center, , ,

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

, Free Transfer , , , - , align=center, 12 , align=center, , ,

, Free Transfer , , , - , align=center, 21 , align=center, , ,

, Signed HGP Deal , , , - , align=center, 26 , align=center, , ,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, Off waivers. Seattle acquired the top spot in the waivers process from Chicago Fire FC for $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). , , , - , align=center, 92 , align=center, , ,

, , , , - , align=center, 20 , align=center, , ,

, $50,000 in GAM , , , - , align=center, 23 , align=center, , , Grêmio , U22 Initiative signing; $2.5 million transfer fee , ,

Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. Only trades involving draft picks and executed after the start of

2021 MLS SuperDraft The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call a ...

will be listed in the notes. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:95%;" , - ! style="background:; width:125px;", Date ! style="background:; width:170px;", Player ! style="background:; width:50px;", Number ! style="background:; width:50px;", Position ! style="background:; width:223px;", Previous club ! style="background:; width:470px;", Notes ! style="background:; width:30px;", Ref , - , January 21, 2021 , T. J. Bush , 01 , GK ,

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

3rd Round Pick (#80) ,

Out

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="width:95%; text-align:center; font-size:95%; text-align:left;" , - !No. !Pos. !Player !Transferred to !Fee/notes !Date !Source , - , align=center, 99 , align=center, , ,

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio FC ...

, Option declined , , , - , align=center, 11 , align=center, , ,

San Diego Loyal SC San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USL Championship. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan; it made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team. ...

, Option declined , , , - , align=center, 33 , align=center, , ,

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...

, Option declined , , , - , align=center, 18 , align=center, DF , ,

, Out of contract , , , - , align=center, 4 , align=center, MF , ,

Guangzhou City Guangzhou, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about northwest of Hong Kong and north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2, ...

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Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

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FC Pinzgau Saalfelden FC Pinzgau Saalfelden is an Austrian football club from Saalfelden in the federal state of Salzburg. The club currently plays in the Austrian Regionalliga Salzburg which is the third tier of Austrian football, and has played there since the 2014� ...

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Notes

:A. Players who are under contract with

References

{{2021 MLS season by team Seattle Sounders FC seasons Seattle Sounders

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Seattle Sounders