After winning his fifth Serie A title with Milan, and following the retirement of several key Milan players, including Franco Baresi and Mauro Tassotti, as well as the departure of manager Fabio Capello, Donadoni temporarily retired from professional football, although he later went on to play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. The &lt;a href="New%20York%20Red%20Bulls"&gt;NY/NJ MetroStars&lt;/a&gt; of MLS made him a centerpiece of their franchise when they signed him in 1996. During his first year with the Metros, he was recalled to the Italy national team. He proved a solid performer, being named to the league Best XI in 1996, and was also named an MLS Eastern Conference All-Star, winning the inaugural 1996 MLS All-Star Game 3–2 over the Western Conference MLS All-Stars. Unfortunately, Donadoni's play could not bring the MetroStars any success as a club. In total, Donadoni scored six goals for the MetroStars.