Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his arrival in Major League Soccer in a typically understated fashion…

The big question surrounding Zlatan’s arrival at the LA GAlaxy on a two-year deal is if he can still produce goals on a regular basis following his serious knee injury last year which kept him out for eight months and continued to hamper him this season at Manchester United.

Yet another question is intriguing to many: where does the 36-year-old stack up in terms of the biggest signings in MLS’ 23-year history?

It’s an intriguing question to ponder and despite Zlatan’s status as one of the most recognizable players on the planet, the impact he will have on MLS will be determined on what he produces on the pitch. Some of the other star names who previously arrived haven’t produced star moments, even if they remained stars after their retirement.

With the Designated Player era ushered in by David Beckham in 2007 (Zlatan reportedly won’t be a DP and will received close to $3 million per year via TAM) many stars have come and gone in MLS with varying degrees of success. It isn’t an exact science as you need big name players to buy into the different challenges MLS brings up and, in essence, almost adapt their own games and reinvent themselves a little.

Some of the biggest names have struggled massively, while others have excelled and even elevated their previous status among the U.S. and global soccer community due to their play in MLS.

Below is a look where Zlatan’s arrival currently ranks in terms of the superstars to come to the U.S., with his ranking no doubt set to rise if he bangs in goals and keeps up his impressive artistry of the English language off the pitch.

Remember: below is a ranking of the top overseas stars to arrive in MLS during the DP era, so there are no U.S. national team or Canadian national team players because Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan and others would all be in this list otherwise.

Let’s be clear, we are talking about big-name overseas stars who have arrived as much for their superstar status off the pitch as well as their obvious playing talent to help the status of the league grow. We are focusing on the star power in the list below, with current MLS players in bold.

David Beckham (LA Galaxy) Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy) Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) David Villa (New York City FC) Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls) Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers) Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls) Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact) Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, Chivas USA, LA Galaxy) Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago Fire) Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United) Carlos Vela (LAFC) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Chicago Fire) Federico Higuain (Columbus Crew SC) Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact) Frank Lampard (New York City FC) Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps) Kaka (Orlando City SC) Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC) Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy) Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy) Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC) Rafael Marquez (New York Red Bulls)

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