MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament Participants Quarter- finalists Semi- finalists Finalists Champions
2008-09 4 1 - - -
2009-10 5 1 - - -
2010-11 5 2 1 1 -
2011-12 5 3 1 - -
2012-13 5 3 2 - -
2013-14 5 3 - - -
2014-15 5 2 1 1 -
2015-16 5 4 - - -
2016-17 5 3 2 - -
2018 5 3 2 1 -
2019 5 4 1 - -
2020 5 4
Performance by round
The following table shows the number of MLS participants in the Champions League each season , as well as the number of MLS teams that have reached various stages in the knockout rounds . MLS teams performed poorly during the first two years , as fixture congestion from the Superliga tournament as well as CONCACAF Champions League preliminary rounds meant that MLS teams often fielded teams without their first choice players . Beginning in 2018 , the Champions League format was changed to eliminate group play and the knockout round starts with sixteen teams rather than eight . [ 3 ]
Major League Soccer teams have participated in the CONCACAF Champions League each season since the tournament began its current format in 2008-09. Previously, MLS teams played in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. MLS may send up to five teams to the CONCACAF Champions League each season - up to four from the United States, and up to one from Canada. The first MLS team to finish first in its group was Real Salt Lake in 2010. The best performance by an MLS team to date occurred in 2018, when Toronto FC reached the finals, before losing to Mexico's Guadalajara 4-2 on penalties following a 3-3 scoreline on aggregate. Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact have both also reached the finals, losing to Monterrey in 2011 and América in 2015, respectively. MLS teams have never won the Champions League under its current format since 2008-09, and therefore have not sent a team to the FIFA Club World Cup.