 Roldan with theUnited States in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristian Roldan[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1995-06-03)June 3, 1995 (age 30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Artesia, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.72 m)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Seattle Sounders FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Washington Huskies | 41 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Washington Crossfire | 13 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Seattle Sounders FC | 307 | (37) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | United States U20 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | United States | 43 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 4, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of November 18, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Cristian Roldan (born June 3, 1995) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as amidfielder forMajor League Soccer clubSeattle Sounders FC and theUnited States national team.
Roldan was the 2013Gatorade National Player of the Year while playing forEl Rancho High School inPico Rivera, California, and played collegiate soccer for theWashington Huskies. He was picked by the Sounders in the2015 MLS SuperDraft and developed into a regular starting player for the club, with over 300 total appearances as of 2024[update].
Roldan was named the 2013Gatorade National Player of the Year in soccer while attendingEl Rancho High School inPico Rivera, California.[3] He declined invitations from theLA Galaxy andChivas USA to join their academy teams and led the El Rancho Dons to an undefeated season with 26 wins.[4] In his junior year, he had 21 goals and 21 assists for El Rancho and also played for youth club Union Independiente.[5] During the 2012–13 season, he scored 54 goals and 30 assists and led El Rancho to a regional high school championship.[4][6]
Roldan was scouted by theUniversity of Washington at a tournament inSan Diego and spent his college career with theWashington Huskies.[6] In his two seasons of college soccer, Roldan made a total of 41 appearances and tallied 10 goals and seven assists as he helped lead the team to a Pac-12 title in 2013.[6][7] Roldan was named the 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, beating future Sounders teammateJordan Morris from theStanford Cardinal.[8]
During the college offseason, Roldan played in thePremier Development League for theWashington Crossfire.[9][10] He joined the team in 2013 as part of preparations to join the Huskies.[11] Roldan also played for thePortland Timbers U23s in the 2014MLS Homegrown Game.[12]
On January 8, 2015, it was announced that Roldan had left college early to sign aGeneration Adidas contract withMajor League Soccer.[13] He was expected to be selected early in the2015 MLS SuperDraft, but was chosen late in the first round with the 16th overall pick bySeattle Sounders FC.[5][14] The Sounders traded withReal Salt Lake for the draft pick and had scouted Roldan during his offseason training sessions with the team.[5] After making two substitute appearances the first two weeks of the season against theNew England Revolution and theSan Jose Earthquakes, Roldan made a substitute appearance forUSL affiliate clubSeattle Sounders FC 2 on March 21 and scored an 89th-minute goal in a 4–2 victory over defending USL championSacramento Republic FC.[15] Due to injuries and international call-ups, he made his first MLS start the following week in a goalless draw away toFC Dallas.[16]
Roldan developed into a deep-lying midfielder and earned a regular place in the starting lineup under head coachSigi Schmid following his performances as an "impact substitute".[17] He was compared to captain and defensive midfielderOsvaldo Alonso, who Roldan regarded as a mentor and ultimately replaced.[18] Roldan scored his first career Major League Soccer goal on July 13, 2016, during a 5–0 win over FC Dallas.[19] He formed a partnership and personal friendship with fellow rookie Jordan Morris—previously a collegiate rival—that was dubbed "Jorstian Mordan".[8][20]
In December 2018, Roldan agreed to a five-year, $4-million dollar contract extension with the Sounders.[21]
On November 10, 2019, Roldan featured for Seattle in a 3–1 home win overToronto FC inMLS Cup 2019; he was involved in the build-up to his team's opening goal, after colliding withJonathan Osorio, who lost the ball, while Seattle went on to score withKelvin Leerdam.[22] He also played all eight matches in Seattle's run to the2022 CONCACAF Champions League title, providing one goal and five assists, and was named to the Team of the Tournament.[23][24] Roldan underwent groin surgery in August 2022 to treat asports hernia, his first major injury during his professional career.[25] He returned to the team for their final three matches of the regular season as the Sounders failed to qualify for the playoffs.[26]
He signed a five-year contract extension with the Sounders in January 2023 alongside Morris.[27] Roldan suffered aconcussion during a regular season match againstSt. Louis City SC in April and missed several matches while undergoing treatment; he resumed training in late May.[28] Roldan had a second concussion during aLeagues Cup match in July and underwent more treatment, including sleep monitoring, at a facility in Detroit.[29] He returned to play againstFC Dallas on September 16.[30]
Roldan represented the United States atunder-20 level. He was also eligible to represent eitherGuatemala orEl Salvador through his parents,[31] and mentioned in an interview that he had been offered senior callups from both nations.[32] On July 12, 2017, he was cap-tied to theUnited States national team by starting their2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage match againstMartinique.[33]
Roldan and Sounders teammate Jordan Morris were called up to the final roster for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[8] Roldan had played limited minutes during the preceding World Cup qualifying campaign, but was chosen byGregg Berhalter for his leadership in training and ability to play in several roles.[23][34]
Roldan was featured in anAdidas commercial as a nine-year-old, selected for his soccer ball juggling skills from 110 kids who tried out for the commercial.[35] Roldan is of Salvadoran and Guatemalan descent, and has an older brother named Cesar Jr., who works as a trainer for theLA Galaxy, and a younger brotherAlex who has also played for the Sounders since 2019.[36][37]
He married physician assistant Ciana Baron on December 31, 2022.[27][38]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs[a] | National cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 2015 | USL | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2015 | MLS | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |
| 2016 | MLS | 33 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 5 | |||
| 2017 | MLS | 33 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 6 | |||
| 2018 | MLS | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2019 | MLS | 29 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 6 | |||
| 2020 | MLS | 22[d] | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2021 | MLS | 28 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3[f] | 1 | 32 | 7 | |||
| 2022 | MLS | 26 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | 8[c] | 1 | — | 34 | 5 | |||
| 2023 | MLS | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[g] | 0 | 22 | 3 | ||
| 2024 | MLS | 33 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[f] | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||
| 2025 | MLS | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 9[h] | 1 | 46 | 2 | ||
| Total | 307 | 37 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 392 | 42 | ||
| Career total | 308 | 38 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 393 | 43 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 0 | |
Seattle Sounders FC
United States
Individual
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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