NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC have made a massive addition to their frontline, signing free agent attacker Cristian Espinoza to a Designated Player deal. First reported by The Athletic's Tom Bogert and confirmed by SixOneFive Soccer, Espinoza will join the 'Yotes as one of the premier free agent signings of the offseason.
💣🇦🇷 BREAKING: Nashville SC has signed free agent winger Cristian Espinoza, sources tell @TheAthleticFC.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 7, 2026
Espinoza was the marquee free agent this winter. He will be a DP in Nashville.
The 30-year-old is San Jose's all-time assists leader. https://t.co/afzgccEK1W
Espinoza, 30, spent the last seven seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes, where he was consistently one of the best attackers in MLS. With 39 goals and 76 assists in 236 matches in all competitions, Espinoza is the 'Quakes all-time assist leader. An MLS All-Star in 2023 and 2025, the Argentine has been one of the most consistent attackers in MLS.
Since joining San Jose in 2019, Espinoza leads all MLS players in primary assists with 63, per American Soccer Analysis. Since 2019, his combined 99 goals and assists are behind only Hany Mukhtar (131), Lucho Acosta (112), Carles Gil (111) and Carlos Vela (104).
A perennial Best XI-caliber player, Espinoza instantly elevates Nashville's attack to one of the best in MLS. Sam Surridge scored 31 goals in all competitions last season, with his 24 league goals finishing second to Messi in the MLS Golden Boot race. Along with Hany Mukhtar, one of the best attackers MLS has seen in the last decade, Espinoza will instantly add a third scoring threat, as well as a player who can consistently create chances for Surridge and others.
What a finish from Cristian Espinoza 💥
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 12, 2024
Three unanswered from @SJEarthquakes. pic.twitter.com/LMbYRoYTo7
Surridge (24) and Mukhtar (16) combined for 40 regular season goals last year. No other Nashville player scored more than four goals, with tertiary scoring a major weakness for a side that otherwise had consistently improved in their first full season under head coach BJ Callaghan.
Espinoza will fill the Designated Player slot vacated by Walker Zimmerman, who left at the end of his contract and has since signed with Toronto FC as a free agent. Nashville traded winger Jacob Shaffelburg to Los Angeles FC earlier this offseason for $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM), opening space in their attack for a player who is a better fit for Callaghan's possession-based approach.
After winning the US Open Cup in 2025, their first trophy as a club, Nashville head into 2026 looking to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference and truly contend for MLS Cup. Signing Cristian Espinoza instantly elevates them into the top tier of teams in MLS.
