Starts: 34
Minutes: 2,950
Age: 27
Key Stat: 10 game-winning goals in the regular season, best in the league
Alonso Martínez was New York City's most outstanding player in 2025. Full stop.
For the second straight season, the Costa Rican recorded more than 20 goals and assists in all competitions, firing home 21 goals and recording two assists across Major League Soccer and Leagues Cup action. His 17 regular-season goals were far and away the highest tally in the squad, and good for a Top 10 finish in the MLS Golden Boot race.
Though Martínez's season was abruptly ended in the midst of the team's playoff run after tearing his ACL while on international duty, the striker more than carried his weight this year as New York City capped off 2025 with an Eastern Conference Final appearance.
Offensive catalyst
Martínez is everything New York City was looking for in a Taty Castellanos replacement. The stats back that up.
After just two full seasons in the Big Apple, Martínez has risen in the NYCFC goalscoring charts to 4th Place on the all-time scoring list with 39 goals in 74 appearances in all competitions, behind David Villa (80 goals), Castellanos (59 goals), and Maxi Moralez (40 goals). His 2024 campaign cemented his status as the leader in the attack, but 2025 saw the Costa Rican enter NYC folklore as he scored a league-best 10 game-winning goals.
With 21 goals in 2025 in all competitions, Martínez had the fourth-best goalscoring season for a striker in New York City history, eclipsing his 18 goals from the previous campaign. He only trails Villa (24 goals in 2017 and 23 goals in 2016), and Castellanos (23 goals in 2021).
His underlying metrics made a jump as well.
