Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 8y

Clint Dempsey tops MLS jersey sales, four NYCFC players in top 10

While the Seattle Sounders have had an up-and-down year in the table, striker Clint Dempsey's popularity has remained sky high.

For the second year running, Dempsey's replica shirt was the most popular purchase based on overall retail sales on MLSStore.com since the start of the 2015 season. Dempsey was joined in the Top 10 by teammate Obafemi Martins, who slotted in at sixth. The LA Galaxy's Steven Gerrard checked in at second place.

The remaining positions in the Top 10 were taken up largely by players from expansion teams. Kaka took third place with teammate Brek Shea in ninth. New York City FC had four players in the Top 10, with Andrea Pirlo in fourth, David Villa in fifth, Frank Lampard in seventh, and Mix Diskerud in 10th. New York's Bradley Wright-Phillips took up eighth place.

Dempsey's level of popularity is even more impressive when one considers that out of the top 15 players from last year, only two others -- LA's Robbie Keane and Sporting Kansas City's Graham Zusi -- managed to crack an expanded Top 20 this time around. Granted, five players from the 2014 list are no longer in the league, but it was still somewhat surprising to see Michael Bradley, who finished third last year, fall off the list entirely.

Jozy Altidore, who joined Bradley at Toronto FC this season, didn't make the list, though Sebastian Giovinco -- one of 13 Designated Players to make the Top 20 -- ranked 12th.

The biggest surprise? That would be the Columbus Crew's Wil Trapp -- one of eight U.S. internationals on the list -- finishing in 19th place. Trapp and the Galaxy's Gyasi Zardes were the only homegrown players to crack the Top 20. The full list is as follows:

1. Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders
2. Steven Gerrard, LA Galaxy
3. Kaka, Orlando City
4. Andrea Pirlo, New York City FC
5. David Villa, New York City FC
6. Obafemi Martins, Seattle Sounders
7. Frank Lampard, New York City FC
8. Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
9. Brek Shea, Orlando City
10. Mix Diskerud, New York City FC
11. Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy
12. Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
13. Graham Zusi, Sporting Kansas City
14. Dom Dwyer, Sporting Kansas City
15. Gyasi Zardes, LA Galaxy
16. Didier Drogba, Montreal Impact
17. Giovani Dos Santos, LA Galaxy
18. Lee Nguyen, New England Revolution
19. Wil Trapp, Columbus Crew
20. Sacha Kljestan, New York Red Bulls

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