Denis Bouanga and Riqui Puig among 30 players named to MLS All-Star roster

LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Hugo Lloris and the Galaxy’s Riqui Puig were among the 30 players selected Monday to the MLS team for this month’s all-star game against a team from Mexico’s Liga MX. The exhibition will be played July 24 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.

Also selected to the team was Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and his three former Barcelona teammates, defender Jordi Alba, midfielder Sergio Busquets and forward Luis Suárez.

Twelve players on the roster were selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting. Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy chose another 16 players with the final two picked by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

The all-star selection is the second in as many years for Bouanga, the reigning MLS Golden Boot winner. Lloris was picked in his first season in the league. Bouanga and Lloris were put on the team by Nancy, a fellow Frenchman, and Puig was voted in for his first selection.

Bouanga ranks third in MLS with 13 goals this season and leads the league in both shots and shots on target. Puig is first in touches, passes and completed passes. Lloris ranks second in wins (11) and clean sheets (seven) for LAFC (12-4-4), which is tied with the Galaxy (11-3-7) atop the Western Conference standings heading into Thursday’s El Tráfico at the Rose Bowl.