| Season: | 2023 |
| League: | MLS |
| Chrtitle: | Sporting director |
| Chairman: | Dave Kasper |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Wayne Rooney |
| Stadium: | Audi Field |
| League Result: | Conference: 12th Overall: 23rd |
| Cup1: | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| Cup1 Result: | Did not qualify |
| Cup2: | Leagues Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Round of 32 |
| Cup3: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Fourth round |
| Highest Attendance: | 19,215 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 8,686 vs. Richmond Kickers April 26, 2023 (U.S. Open Cup) |
| Average Attendance: | 17,540[1] |
| Largest Win: | 4–0 vs. Chicago Fire (Home) September 2, 2023 (Major League Soccer) |
| Largest Loss: | 0–4 vs. New England Revolution (Away) July 15, 2023 (Major League Soccer) |
| League Topscorer: | Christian Benteke (14) |
| Season Topscorer: | Christian Benteke (14) |
| American: | true |
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| Prevseason: | 2022 |
| Nextseason: | 2024 |
The 2023 season was D.C. United's 28th in existence and its 28th consecutive season in the top division of American soccer, Major League Soccer. In addition to MLS, D.C. United participated in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup and 2023 Leagues Cup, the latter their first international club tournament since 2016. The season was the first full season with Wayne Rooney as head coach. The season covered the period from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023.
This was the first season since 2008 where long-time United goalkeeper, Bill Hamid, is not on the roster.
See main article: 2022 D.C. United season.
The 2022 season was a tumultuous season for United. The club finished at the bottom of the MLS table and saw the firing of then-head coach Hernán Losada early in the season, followed by their interim manager, Chad Ashton being removed from interim duties halfway through the season, prior to Wayne Rooney's arrival. The club set a record in the number of goals conceded (75) and the largest losses in club history, both to Philadelphia Union, a six-goal home loss, and a seven-goal away loss. Midseason acquisition, Taxiarchis Fountas lead United in goals during the season, scoring 12 goals in 21 appearances, being United's lone player selected for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game. Outside of MLS, United were eliminated in the fourth round proper of the U.S. Open Cup by their longtime rivals, the New York Red Bulls.
The offseason saw Lucy Rushton fired as general manager. Head coach Wayne Rooney and sporting director Dave Kasper retained their roles.
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman |  Jason Levien | |
| Co-Chairman | Stephen Kaplan | |
| Sporting Director | Dave Kasper | |
| General Manager | Vacant | |
| Technical Director | Stewart Mairs | |
| Head coach | ||
| Assistant coach | ||
| Assistant coach | Carl Robinson | |
| Assistant coach | Pete Shuttleworth | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Diego Restrepo |
See main article: 2023 Major League Soccer season.
See main article: 2023 U.S. Open Cup.
See main article: 2023 Leagues Cup.
| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 17, 2022 | GK | 50 | Luis Zamudio | Loudoun United | Signed through 2024, with 2025 team option. | [4] |
| November 10, 2022 | DF | 3 | Derrick Williams | LA Galaxy | $180,000 in 2024 GAM to LA | [5] |
| November 21, 2022 | MF | 7 | Pedro Santos | Columbus Crew | Free Transfer, signed through 2024 | [6] |
| November 24, 2022 | GK | 1 | Tyler Miller | Minnesota United FC | Free Transfer, signed through 2024 | [7] |
| December 7, 2022 | DF | 5 | Mohanad Jeahze | Hammarby IF | Signed through 2025, with 2026 team option | [8] |
| December 14, 2022 | GK | 24 | Alex Bono | Toronto FC | Free Transfer, signed through 2024 with 2025 team option | [9] |
| December 21, 2022 | DF | 2 | Ruan | Orlando City SC | Traded for #2 overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft | [10] |
| January 12, 2023 | MF | 43 | Mateusz Klich | Leeds United | Free Transfer, signed through 2024 with 2025 team option | [11] |
| March 2, 2023 | MF | 22 | Yamil Asad | Universidad Católica | Signed through 2023 with 2024-25 team options | [12] |
| April 24, 2023 | FW | 12 | Cristian Dájome | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | $350,000 GAM to Vancouver | [13] |
| April 29, 2023 | FW | 9 | Erik Hurtado | San Antonio FC | $10,000 to San Antonio, 2024 team option | [14] |
| August 2, 2023 | FW | 84 | José Fajardo | Cusco FC | Free Transfer | [15] |
| DF | 31 | Eric Davis | DAC Dunajska Streda | Free Transfer | ||
| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 14, 2022 | FW | 9 | Häcken | Out of contract | |||
| 28 | Out of contract | [16] | |||||
| DF | 93 | Option declined | |||||
| MF | 13 | Option declined, 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft | |||||
| DF | 97 | ES Sétif | Option declined | ||||
| GK | 21 | N/A | Option declined, retired | ||||
| DF | 3 | Alexandria Reds | Option declined | ||||
| FW | 16 | San Diego Loyal | Option declined | ||||
| DF | 5 | Brad Smith | Houston Dynamo | Option declined | |||
| FW | 17 | Kimarni Smith | San Antonio FC | Option declined | |||
| MF | 12 | Drew Skundrich | Option declined | ||||
| GK | 32 | Atlético San Luis | Free Transfer | ||||
| January 19, 2023 | GK | 1 | Mutual Termination | [17] | |||
| February 19, 2023 | FW | 22 | Miguel Berry | Atlanta United FC | $250,000 GAM | [18] | |
| July 28, 2023 | MF | 44 | Victor Pálsson | KAS Eupen | Undisclosed fee | [19] | |
| August 10, 2023 | FW | 11 | Taxiarchis Fountas | Trabzonspor | Mutual termination | [20] |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned from | Start | End | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | MF | March 20, 2023 | July 16, 2023 | [21] | |||
| 10 | MF | July 27, 2023 | December 31, 2023 | [22] |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Start | End | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | MF | March 10, 2023 | November 30, 2023 | [23] | |||
| 72 | DF | March 10, 2023 | May 12, 2023 | [24] | |||
| 30 | DF | May 12, 2023 | November 30, 2023 | ||||
| 25 | MF | May 20, 2023 | July 25, 2023 | [25] | |||
| 45 | DF | June 2, 2023 | November 30, 2023 | ||||
| 50 | GK | June 16, 2023 | July 17, 2023 |
See main article: 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 31 | Ben Stitz | MF | Penn | Signed with FC Cincinnati 2 |
| 3 | 60 | Aidan Rocha | MF | Signed with Loudoun United FC | |
Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.|-|-!colspan="14"|Players who left during the season|-|-!colspan="4"|Total!39!!47!!34!!45!!2!!1!!3!!1
| Rank | Position | No. | Name | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 20 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | FW | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | MF | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | 43 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | DF | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MF | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 9 players with 1 goal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 44 | 1 | 1 | 46Top assists
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||