Today’s MLS players believe Portland Timbers have the best fans, think regular salaries are much too low, and would love to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic join the league – more so than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

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The results emerged from the the annual ESPN players’ poll, which was published on Tuesday. The survey asks 140 current MLS players their views on a range of topics, including the standard of refereeing, players’ wages, the lengthy playoff schedule – and whether or not Sebastian Giovinco was unfairly snubbed for last season’s MVP award. (They think he was.)

Ibrahimovic topped the list with 22% of the vote when asked the question: “Which big-name designated player would you like to come to MLS?” Messi was second with 20%, Ronaldo third with 17%, and Wayne Rooney and Neymar were joint fourth with 6%.

One anonymous player said of Ibrahimovic: “If he came, that would be sick. A personality like that would be good for the league.” Another said: “Ibrahimovic would be great entertainment. He’d be on SportsCenter almost daily.”

Twenty-one of the league’s 22 clubs were represented in the survey. Only New York City FC declined to take part.

One of the starkest results was the general air of discontent about MLS salaries. Seventy-nine percent of players said they were unhappy with the current structure.

In MLS, the disparity in pay is vast, and the league’s top 20 players receive almost half of the clubs’ expenditure in wages. Last year’s figures showed that the likes of Kaka, Giovinco and Michael Bradley earned more than $6m per year, while some weren’t paid much more than the minimum $51,000.

One player told ESPN: “The discrepancy between the DPs and the guys on the minimum salary is insane.” Another revealed that he came into the league on just $12,000 per year. “It could be better, but the strides they made over the last two CBA have been good,” he said. “I came into the league on a $12,000 contract; now these guys are making $50,000 and $60,000. It’s come a long way and hopefully it keeps going.”

Portland’s fans came out top in the best fans category with 49% of votes, ahead of Seattle (28%) and Kansas City (14%). Ninety percent of respondents said Bruce Arena was the right pick to replace Jürgen Klinsmann at the helm of the national team, and the players were split 48-45 on whether David Beckham’s Miami team would happen. “No,” said one player. “There are too many hurdles. It’s just not a good sports town.”

Players also believe that the standard of refereeing is improving, but that the six-week playoff window is too long. Ozzie Alonso was considered the league’s toughest player, ahead of Felipe Martins, and for the second year running, Mix Diskerud was voted the league’s most overrated player.

Ibrahimovic, who has yet to sign an extension to his one-year deal at Manchester United, dropped a hint about his future in November, telling the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he could conquer America like Napoleon couldn’t.

“[America] is a huge option for me,” Ibrahimovic said. “For the football and everything else. I can see myself conquering the US as I have with Europe. Lots of people stay in one place throughout their career, but I’ve traveled around like Napoleon, and conquered every new country where I’ve set foot. So perhaps I should do what Napoleon didn’t and cross the Atlantic and conquer the States as well.”