Zlatan has arrived in Los Angeles, the regular season is over, and the MLS playoffs are upon us.

Throughout the regular season, soccer’s top players took to social to build their brands beyond the pitch. With his charisma, relentless confidence, and on-field success, Zlatan was able to captivate a following that surpasses any other MLS player and continues to outpace the league in terms of engagement and audience.

The MLS’s biggest winners may have been its stars who previously played overseas, but the league’s up-and-coming talent was also able to capture momentum from the regular season to build strong followings and share their experiences with their audience. There’s no denying that athletes are a force on social and MLS players presented a perfect example of that influence this season. Their collective audience size, activity, and engagement significantly outrank that of their teams and the league itself.

View this post on Instagram We can do whatever we want #venom A post shared by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (@iamzlatanibrahimovic) on Oct 18, 2018 at 11:41am PDT

We analyzed Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram data from the MLS’ owned channels, all 23 teams, and the top 50 players on social throughout the regular season (3/3/2018-10/28/2018). Below, we show how the players compare with their teams and league, then share the league’s regular season MVPs on social.