Timo Werner named MLS Player of the Month after three months at San Jose Earthquakes

Timo Werner has been named MLS Player of the Month for April 2026 after three months with the San Jose Earthquakes, a rapid rise that matters because it underlines how quickly he has become a pivotal attacking figure for a club that dominated the month. Werner joined the Earthquakes on January 29, 2026, and produced a league-high seven goal contributions in April — four goals and three assists — during a run that helped San Jose record five straight wins while outscoring opponents 16-5.

Werner’s immediate impact at San Jose

Werner arrived from RB Leipzig after featuring sparingly in the Bundesliga earlier in the 2025–26 season. The transfer was announced on January 29, 2026, and the forward took one of the Earthquakes’ Designated Player slots. His early minutes in MLS were modest — roughly 200 minutes across his first four appearances and missed matches while settling in — but April marked a clear breakthrough. Across that month Werner registered four goals and three assists, including a goal and an assist on his return from injury against Los Angeles FC in a 4-1 victory, and later a brace and an assist in a 3-2 comeback win at St. Louis City.

How this compares to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami start

The rapidity of Werner’s award drew comparisons to Lionel Messi’s introduction to the league. Messi joined Inter Miami on July 15, 2023, made his MLS debut on August 26, 2023, and won his first MLS Player of the Month in April 2024. According to the source, Messi’s first MLS Player of the Month came in his fifth month of active league competition, whereas Werner won his in his second month of active MLS play.

Werner also became only the second German to win the MLS Player of the Month award, joining Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar, who has won it twice.

Team and competition context

San Jose’s April form — five straight league wins and a +11 goal difference across those matches — coincided with Werner finding form and returning from a short injury absence. That surge has bolstered the Earthquakes’ position in the 2026 MLS regular-season table (source notes the club is 'dominating' the 2026 MLS season), and Werner’s output has been central to that stretch.

• Werner joined San Jose Earthquakes on January 29, 2026, as a Designated Player.
• He logged about 200 minutes in his first four Earthquakes appearances before breaking through in April.
• April statistics: four goals and three assists (seven goal contributions), the league-high for the month.
• San Jose recorded five consecutive wins in April, outscoring opponents 16-5.
• Werner returned from injury to register a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over LAFC and later produced a brace plus an assist in a 3-2 win at St. Louis City.
• Werner is the second German to win MLS Player of the Month, after Hany Mukhtar.

What it means: Werner’s Player of the Month award reinforces San Jose Earthquakes’ momentum through April 2026 and signals that the Designated Player signing has had immediate attacking returns. If he maintains form and fitness, Werner’s contributions will be crucial to the Earthquakes’ hopes across the remainder of the MLS regular season.