LA Galaxy's Zlatan Ibrahimovic has top selling jersey in MLS for 2018

LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fond of saying, "The lion is hungry." The same is true of his fans, who made his jersey the top seller in MLS for 2018, according to the league.

The ranking is based on overall retail sales of adidas MLS jerseys on MLSstore.com since the beginning of 2018.

Ibrahimovic, 37, has enjoyed a sensational first season with the Galaxy, scoring 22 goals and adding 10 assists and fans have responded in kind. He beat out crosstown rival Carlos Vela of LAFC for the top spot.

Last year's top seller, Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almiron, ranked fifth this season and is one of five Atlanta players to rank in the top 25. The others are MLS record-breaking goalscorer Josef Martinez (third), midfielder Ezequiel Barco (10th), midfielder Darlington Nagbe (15th) and midfielder Hector Villalba (18th).

D.C. United had three players in the top 25, with Wayne Rooney's fourth-place finish especially impressive given that he was only with the team for half a season. The other representatives from the Black-and-Red are Luciano Acosta (20th) and Paul Arriola (24th).

Other teams with multiple entries in the top 25 were the Seattle Sounders (Clint Dempsey and Cristian Roldan), LAFC (Vela and Diego Rossi), the Galaxy (Ibrahimovic and Giovani Dos Santos), the Portland Timbers (Diego Valeri and Diego Chara), and Toronto FC (Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore).

Sporting Kansas City's Graham Zusi, who ranked 21st on the list, accomplished a unique feat. His jersey is the only one to crack the top 25 for the last five consecutive seasons.

Eight of the players are 24 and under, a list that includes, Almiron, Barco, Rossi, Vancouver's Alphonso Davies, Villalba, Acosta, Roldan and Arriola.

The top-selling player jerseys for 2018:

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - LA Galaxy

2. Carlos Vela - LAFC

3. Josef Martinez - Atlanta United

4. Wayne Rooney - D.C. United

5. Miguel Almiron - Atlanta United

6. Bastian Schweinsteiger - Chicago Fire

7. David Villa - NYCFC

8. Sebastian Giovinco - Toronto FC

9. Clint Dempsey - Seattle Sounders

10. Ezequiel Barco - Atlanta United

11. Diego Valeri - Portland Timbers

12. Diego Rossi - LAFC

13. Bradley Wright-Phillips - New York Red Bulls

14. Giovani Dos Santos - LA Galaxy

15. Darlington Nagbe - Atlanta United

16. Jozy Altidore - Toronto FC

17. Alphonso Davies - Vancouver Whitecaps

18. Hector Villalba - Atlanta United

19. Dom Dwyer - Orlando City

20. Luciano Acosta - D.C. United

21. Graham Zusi - Sporting KC

22. Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders

23. Darwin Quintero - Minnesota United

24. Paul Arriola - D.C. United

25. Diego Chara - Portland Timbers