The 2025 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the club's fifteenth season in Major League Soccer, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. Including previous iterations of the franchise, this was the 48th season of professional soccer being played in Vancouver under a variation of the "Whitecaps" name.
Having won the 2024 Canadian Championship, the Whitecaps participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup for a third consecutive season and fifth time overall. The club advanced to the final, where they were defeated by Liga MX side Cruz Azul, finishing as runner-up. The Whitecaps also participated in the 2025 Canadian Championship, winning their fourth domestic cup championship in a row. On January 28, MLS announced that all teams would participate in at least one but no more than two cup competitions. Due to their participation in the Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Whitecaps did not participate in the 2025 Leagues Cup.
On November 25, 2024, the Whitecaps parted ways with head coach Vanni Sartini. On January 14, 2025, the Whitecaps announced that they had hired Jesper Sørensen as their new head coach.
On August 6, 2025, the Whitecaps gained international attention due to the signing of German superstar and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Thomas Müller in free agency after a storied 17-season club career at Bayern Munich, being a key centrepiece towards the team's multiple trophies. The signing helped boost morale for the team, as from Müller's debut with the Whitecaps on August 17, 2025, until the final regular season match of the season in a 1-2 loss to FC Dallas at home, the Whitecaps went on a ten game unbeaten streak in all competitions, including a MLS-era record of a postseason-clinching 7-0 win over the eventual Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union on September 13, 2025, which is tied for the largest margin of victory in the 2025 Major League Soccer season. The Whitecaps finished the regular season with a MLS-era record 63 points; however, they did not win the Western Conference in the regular season due to losing a tiebreaker with San Diego FC, as the latter won one more game than the Whitecaps. However, the Whitecaps would eventually win their first Western Conference title against San Diego in the MLS Cup playoffs to advance to their first MLS Cup game in its MLS-era club history, where they would lose to Inter Miami 1-3.
Current roster
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Previous club Goalkeepers 1 Yohei Takaoka GK Yokohama F. Marinos 30 Adrian Zendejas GK Skövde AIK 32 Isaac Boehmer GK Vancouver Whitecaps Development Squad 50 Max Anchor GK Whitecaps FC 2 Defenders 2 Mathías Laborda DF Nacional 3 Sam Adekugbe DF Hatayspor 4 Ranko Veselinović DF Vojvodina 12 Belal Halbouni DF FC Magdeburg 15 Sebastian Schonlau DF Hamburger SV 18 Édier Ocampo DF Atlético Nacional 23 Joedrick Pupe DF FCV Dender 27 Giuseppe Bovalina DF Adelaide United 28 Tate Johnson DF North Carolina Tar Heels 33 Tristan Blackmon DF Charlotte FC 53 Mark O'Neill DF Whitecaps FC 2 Midfielders 6 Ralph Priso MF Colorado Rapids 13 Thomas Müller MF Bayern Munich 16 Sebastian Berhalter MF Columbus Crew 17 Kenji Cabrera MF FBC Melgar 20 Andrés Cubas MF Nîmes 22 Ali Ahmed MF Whitecaps FC 2 25 Ryan Gauld MF Farense 26 J.C. Ngando MF UNC Greensboro Spartans 59 Jeevan Badwal MF Whitecaps FC 2 97 Liam Mackenzie MF Whitecaps FC 2 Forwards 7 Jayden Nelson FW Rosenborg 11 Emmanuel Sabbi FW Le Havre 14 Daniel Ríos FW C.D. Guadalajara 24 Brian White FW New York Red Bulls 42 Nelson Pierre FW Philadelphia Union 75 Rayan Elloumi FW Whitecaps FC 2 Out on Loan 52 Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau FW Whitecaps FC 2
Transfers
In
Transferred in #PositionPlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource28 North Carolina Tar Heels2025 MLS SuperDraft/Generation Adidas7 RosenborgUndisclosed11 Le HavreUndisclosed 30 Skövde AIKFree42 Whitecaps FC 2/ Philadelphia Union$50,000 fee to Philadelphia Union17 FBC MelgarUndisclosed/U22 Initiative 13 Bayern MunichFree/Up to $400,000 GAM to FC Cincinnati for Discovery Rights97 Whitecaps FC 2Homegrown player15 Hamburger SVUndisclosed23 FCV DenderUndisclosed53 Whitecaps FC 2Free75Homegrown player
Loans in #PositionPlayerLoaned fromDateLoan expiresNotesSource14 C.D. Guadalajara
Out
Transferred out #PositionPlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource7 Los Angeles FCOut of contractNovember 27, 20248 Wolfsberger ACOption declined11 Inter Miami CF17Retired28 Colorado Springs Switchbacks23 Atlético JuniorUndisclosed17 Sheffield WednesdayUndisclosed19 HNK RijekaContract buyout45 UNAM$7,000,00015 SarpsborgUndisclosed
Loans out #PositionPlayerLoaned toDateLoan expiresSource50 Pacific FC52 Vaasan Palloseura
MLS SuperDraft picks
RoundNo.Pos.PlayerCollege/Club teamTransactionSource1 (15) Tate Johnson North CarolinaSigned to a Generation Adidas contract2 (45) Nikola Djordjevic Southern MethodistSigned with Whitecaps FC 2
Preseason and friendlies Whitecaps FC confirmed their preseason schedule on January 15, 2025.
Competition overview
Major League Soccer
Regular season League tables
Results
Matches
MLS Cup playoffs
Round One
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
MLS Cup
Canadian Championship
As champions of the 2024 tournament, the Whitecaps received a bye into the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
CONCACAF Champions Cup
Round one
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Leagues Cup
While Vancouver Whitecaps FC qualified for the 2025 Leagues Cup as one of the top 9 teams in the Western Conference for the 2024 season, they were already capped on their two continental competitions they could participate in (2025 Canadian Championship and 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup) and instead gave their spot to expansion team San Diego FC.
Cascadia Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals
! colspan="16" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan="16" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan="16" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan="16" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan="16" style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season
Goalscorers
NameMLSMLS PlayoffsCanadian ChampionshipChampions CupTotal124FWBrian White1621625211FWEmmanuel Sabbi7110913MFThomas Müller71109416MFSebastian Berhalter4013852DFMathías Laborda51006633DFTristan Blackmon2021545MF Pedro Vite40015814FWDaniel Ríos3100422MFAli Ahmed01304103DFSam Adekugbe201037FWJayden Nelson2010318DFÉdier Ocampo2001325MFRyan Gauld1011326FWJ.C. Ngando201031517MFKenji Cabrera1100275FWRayan Elloumi20002176MFRalph Priso0100112DFBelal Halbouni0001115DFBjørn Inge Utvik0010119FWDamir Kreilach1000128DFTate Johnson1000142FWNelson Pierre1000143MFAntoine Coupland1000159MFJeevan Badwal10001Own goals11002Totals66101414104
Clean sheets
NameMLSMLS PlayoffsCanadian ChampionshipChampions CupTotal11GKYohei Takaoka1310216232GKIsaac Boehmer00101Totals1311217
Disciplinary record
PlayerMLSMLS PlayoffsCanadian ChampionshipChampions CupTotal1GKYohei Takaoka0001000000001002DFMathías Laborda5011000002008013DFSam Adekugbe0000000000000004DFRanko Veselinović1000000001002006MFRalph Priso5001000000006007FWJayden Nelson21000000010031011FWEmmanuel Sabbi40000000000040012DFBelal Halbouni40000000000040013MFThomas Müller10010000000020014FWDaniel Ríos20000000010030015DFSebastian Schonlau00000000000000015DFBjørn Inge Utvik10000000000010016MFSebastian Berhalter600200000300110017MFKenji Cabrera00000010000010018DFÉdier Ocampo810200000100111019FWDamir Kreilach00000000000000020MFAndrés Cubas900300000200140022MFAli Ahmed20000000010030023DFJoedrick Pupe00000000000000024FWBrian White30010000020060025MFRyan Gauld10000000000010026MFJ.C. Ngando10000000000010027DFGiuseppe Bovalina00000000000000028DFTate Johnson40010000010060030GKAdrian Zendejas00000000000000032GKIsaac Boehmer00000010000010033DFTristan Blackmon40011010020081042FWNelson Pierre00000000000000045MFPedro Vite10000000010020050GKMax Anchor00000000000000052FWNicolas Fleuriau Chateau00000000000000053DFMark O'Neill00000000000000059MFJeevan Badwal10000020000030075FWRayan Elloumi00000000000000097MFLiam Mackenzie000000000000000Totals65211410500180010231
Notes
References