Atlanta United president and CEO Garth Lagerwey didn’t specify the exact number. But amid a flurry of outgoing moves, he readily confirmed the ballpark figure.
“It is a little bit north of $50 million,” Lagerwey told MLSsoccer.com late last week.
That refers to transfer funds Atlanta United are ready to reinvest in the squad, especially after two Designated Player sales.
First, Greek international striker Giorgos Giakoumakis was transferred to Liga MX side Cruz Azul. Then midfielder Thiago Almada, a 2022 FIFA World Cup champion with Argentina, was dealt to Brazil’s Botafogo for a league-record sum.
Atlanta are also reportedly transferring left back Caleb Wiley to Premier League side Chelsea; the homegrown standout is joining Team USA for the Paris 2024 Olympics. And there’s a sizable sell-on fee from Ezequiel Barco moving from Argentina’s River Plate to Russia’s Spartak Moscow.
Together, it leaves Atlanta primed to reload when the MLS Secondary Transfer Window opens on July 18.
“An attacking player who is a chance creator, yes, we are trying to sign that player,” Lagerwey said. “And we're trying to sign a nine, a target forward who hopefully is well-rounded. Both of these guys, we envision them making everybody around them better.
“We're going to try and sign prime-age players as well. That is a heavy lift in some cases because you're trying to get guys who are playing in top-five leagues in their prime to say, ‘I'm picking MLS.’ Certainly, we've had guys that have done that. But we're still in the persuasion phase.”
Atlanta's "blank canvas"
Lagerwey believes Atlanta have a hugely compelling case, though.
The former Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders executive referenced Atlanta averaging around 47,000 fans per game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Ditto for a $23 million investment to nearly double their Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground. Lagerwey even points to the impending 2026 FIFA World Cup and the platform afforded by playing in MLS.
That’s not to suggest recruiting prime-age players is always easy. But with the right player and situation, the scales start to tilt.
“We want to try to get someone prime age because they're going to play every game and they're going to be the foundation of our team and they're going to be one of our leaders,” Lagerwey said.
“It's not a matter of them leaving Europe. You can convince people to leave Europe. But it's what is your situation with respect to Champions League that has been, I think, the biggest hurdle that we've seen today.”
This potential spending spree arrives with Lagerwey confident in Atlanta’s “middle of the roster” players. Saba Lobjanidze, Tristan Muyumba and Xande Silva all joined last summer. Bartosz Slisz and Stian Gregersen arrived this winter. MLS veterans like Brad Guzan and Brooks Lennon remain ever-steady.
Now, it’s about acquiring high-end difference-makers for the “blank canvas” Atlanta have created.
“We've worked 18 months to kind of clear the decks of all the stuff that I didn't like in the organization, but now we can move forward,” Lagerwey said, referencing his November 2022 appointment.
“This is the fun part. We get to add the pieces back in now and kind of build this consistent with how I want to evolve our model – more prime-age players, make the focus completely around winning and trying to be the best team possible. That's not going to be easy and I'm not saying it's going to happen overnight, but it sure is exciting to be going out and trying to sign an impact No. 10, an impact No. 9.”
Lofty ambitions
All the while, Atlanta have slipped below the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line as the midsummer Leagues Cup break nears. They’re now 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, averaging just 1.04 points per game. Interim coach Rob Valentino is at the helm after Gonzalo Pineda was let go in early June.
As for transfer rumors, they’ve been linked to Atalanta attacking midfielder Aleksei Miranchuk and Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson. And in newly-signed Portuguese left back Pedro Amador, they already have Wiley’s potential replacement.
As this unfolds, Lagerwey believes Atlanta can push the boundaries of what’s possible in MLS. He even coined their city, with U.S. Soccer relocating there, the “epicenter of soccer in North America” for club and international competition.
“We're sitting here with the highest fan base, but we're an NFL organization,” Lagerwey said. “We have much greater ambitions in terms of what can we do, what can we become, what do we want this to be? Hopefully we can be a leader within MLS in terms of the players we acquire, but also the culture we build and the infrastructure we have.
Lagerwey added: “We think Atlanta is the soul of soccer in North America, it's going to become that. Part of that is signing some good players, but again, it's getting the culture right and it's getting the long-term growth path right.”
