NYCFC transfer midfielder Moralez to Racing Club
Midfield maestro Maxi Moralez has left New York City FC after six seasons to rejoin boyhood side Racing Club in his native Argentina. The 35-year-old stands among the best No. 10s in MLS history, memorably helping NYCFC to their first-ever trophy when lifting MLS Cup 2021. He had 26 goals and 69 assists in 162 regular-season games with the Cityzens, joining ahead of the 2017 season as their fourth-ever Designated Player.
Héber traded to Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders FC have acquired veteran forward Héber in a trade with New York City FC. To land the 31-year-old Brazilian, Seattle sent $400,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) split evenly across the next two seasons. NYCFC can pocket an additional $150k in performance-based GAM as well. Héber tallied 30 goals and seven assists in 90 all-competition matches for NYCFC upon arriving in 2019 from Croatian side HNK Rijeka. He tore his ACL in September 2020, but returned late in the 2021 campaign, helping NYCFC win their first trophy (MLS Cup 2021) and later capture the 2022 Campeones Cup.
LAFC sign rising Croatian forward Biuk
LAFC have signed forward Stipe Biuk from Croatian top-flight side Hajduk Split. The 20-year-old Croatian youth international has inked a four-year deal through 2026 with a club option for 2027. He’s a U22 Initiative player and will occupy an international roster spot for the Black & Gold.
Gallese signs new contract with Orlando City
Orlando City SC have re-signed goalkeeper Pedro Gallese to a new contract through 2024 with an option for 2025. The 32-year-old Peruvian international, who was out of contract following the 2022 season, has been the Lions' unquestioned starter since his arrival in 2020.
Charlotte FC transfer forward Ríos to Liga MX’s Chivas
Charlotte FC have transferred forward Daniel Ríos to Liga MX’s Chivas for an undisclosed fee. The 27-year-old joined Charlotte’s expansion season via a February 2022 trade from Nashville SC. He ultimately had seven goals and two assists in 27 regular-season games (15 starts).
Pellegrini returns to NYCFC via waivers
New York City FC have claimed attacking midfielder Matías Pellegrini off waivers. The transaction returns the 22-year-old Argentine to NYCFC for the 2023 MLS season. He originally joined the Cityzens last August, then played in six matches (70 substitute minutes) off the bench as they made the Eastern Conference Final in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
MLS remembers Kevin Payne
Kevin Payne, a National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee and D.C. United founding president, died Sunday in Charleston, S.C., of a long-term lung illness. He was 69.
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Annnndddd we’re back.
Happy New Year, y’all. I hope you enjoyed your break from the newsletter. I spent that time coping with not having a newsletter to write, specifically by sending members of my family newsletters entitled “Here’s what I do for my job, a 10-part breakdown.” They still don’t understand what I do, and I should probably get some help for this newsletter problem. Anyway, New Year, same Daily Kickoff. Let’s get into the biggest stories in MLS over the break.
I’m not going to lie, I balked at this one at first glance. From my 10,000-foot, east-coast biased influenced view, Seattle sending some GAM to get a 31-year-old striker a couple of years removed from an ACL tear who made $914k in guaranteed compensation in 2022 so they could have an adequate backup striker is a choice. I think I’m largely still operating with that as my base read of this.
However, a closer look makes it a little more palatable overall – or at least easier to see the thought process behind the move.
Heber isn’t going to start over Raul Ruidiaz. And if Heber is making similar money to his 2022 salary this year, that’s a chunk to pay for a backup striker. But Ruidiaz made just 14 starts in 2022. And 24 in 2021. And 17 of Seattle’s 22 games in 2020. And 20 starts in 2019. If you’re keeping track there, Ruidiaz has started 75 of a possible 124 regular season games with Seattle. It’s not like he’s been AWOL for four years, but he hasn’t exactly been a workhorse. At 32 years old, it’s highly likely Ruidiaz will miss some time this year.
Heber, in a backup role for most of 2022 with NYCFC, put up eight goals in 30 appearances and nine starts at a pace of about 0.66 goals per 96 minutes. Combine that output with Ruidiaz’s nine goals in 2022 and you have a 17-goal striker. It’s not ideal you have to pay two folks a significant amount to get that production at striker, but at least, in theory, it’s better than not getting that production at all.
It’s also important to note Seattle didn’t lock themselves into anything long-term here. The fusioned striker experience of Heul Ruideber could only last a year. Heber’s contract runs through 2023 with an option for 2024, and Ruidiaz’s contract lasts through 2024. If it doesn’t work, it’s not like they’ve hamstrung themselves with lengthy deals for aging players. If they didn’t feel the need to use what they’re paying Heber elsewhere on the roster, then it’s not going to hurt them much to overpay a little for proven production at an important backup spot.
There’s a lot more to get into here with Seattle and the pros and cons of an already aging roster getting a little older. For now though. we’ll just say the Sounders paid a little extra to feel a little safer in the short-term and that’s probably ok.
Maybe we were so focused on CF Montréal crumbling around us we couldn’t see NYCFC imploding right in front of our faces?
There are obviously a few key differences in what’s happening with both teams this offseason. NYCFC have a proven record of bouncing from one season to the next with consistently high point totals, while Montréal are trending downward after their first truly excellent year in MLS. However, it’s time to start mentioning NYCFC’s roster teardown in the same breath.
Anton Tinnerholm, Heber and Nicolas Acevedo are gone for sure. Sean Johnson and Alexander Callens are both free agents. Santiago Rodriguez’s loan from Montevideo has ended. And now Maxi Moralez is no longer an NYCFC player. That’s an absolutely wild sentence to write.
And it’s a sentence that means NYCFC have rapidly turned into one of the most fascinating teams of the offseason. Again, it’s perhaps not quite as worrying as watching other teams go through extreme moments of transition. NYCFC’s extensive scouting network – thanks to being in the City Football Group network of teams – gives them a significant advantage in finding quality players. But that’s a ton of talent to replace, and there are approximately zero moves in MLS that are surefire – including their recent move to bring back former Inter Miami DP Matias Pellegrini.
It’s not time to panic. It is time to start staring at NYCFC very intensely while waiting to see how they sort all of this out by the time opening weekend comes around.
[WARNING: MLS ROSTER RULES DISCUSSION MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR WELL-BEING. TURN BACK NOW.]
I realized something new last week, so I figure it might be new to some of y’all too. U22 players aren’t determined in the same way other players on the roster are. I knew U22 players only took on a budget charge of either $150k or $200k as long as their salaries clocked in below the maximum salary budget charge ($612.5k). However, I never considered, unlike other players, transfer fees have absolutely no effect on their roster designation. As long as the salary is below that maximum threshold, the transfer fee can be as big as it needs to be.
The official wording is: “In addition, Clubs may pay, without limit, additional amounts in the form of acquisition fees (i.e. transfer or loan fees).” If we lived in a world where 18-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi desperately wanted to come to MLS, a team could pay his $1 billion transfer fee and still have him be a U22 as long as he was making $612.5k or less a year.
Anyway, the reason I realized this is because LAFC just shelled out a reported $6.94 million transfer fee for rising Croatian star Stipe Buik and put him on a U22 deal. As far as I can tell, this is the biggest-ever transfer fee for a U22 player by a considerable amount. Because of course it is.
I don’t even have anything to offer beyond that. It’s just that we’re all stuck staring at LAFC again in awe and wondering how they keep pulling this kind of stuff off. They’re outpacing the rest of the league right now when it comes to roster building, thanks in part to an ability to convince players to take salary-cap-friendly deals, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll slow down anytime soon.
Chicago Fire acquire winger Haile-Selassie from Switzerland's FC Lugano: Chicago Fire FC have acquired winger Maren Haile-Selassie on loan from FC Lugano through the 2023 MLS season. The deal includes a purchase option, and the 23-year-old Switzerland native will occupy an international spot on the Fire’s roster.
Columbus Crew sign free-agent defender Medranda: The Columbus Crew have signed free-agent defender Jimmy Medranda through the 2023 MLS season with an option for 2024. The 28-year-old Colombian has spent the last decade in MLS, amassing nine goals and 11 assists in 145 regular-season games across time with Sporting Kansas City, Nashville SC and Seattle Sounders FC. He’s won four trophies during his MLS career.
St. Louis CITY sign South African midfielder Blom: St. Louis CITY SC have signed South African midfielder Njabulo Blom from Kaizer Chiefs FC ahead of their 2023 expansion season. Acquired via an undisclosed transfer fee, Blom's contract runs through the 2024 MLS season with option years for 2025 and 2026.
Chicago Fire defender Espinoza departs for Switzerland's FC Lugano: Chicago Fire FC have mutually agreed to part ways with defender Jhon Espinoza. The 23-year-old Ecuadorian will join FC Lugano in the Swiss Super League once the European transfer window opens in January. Both Chicago and Lugano are owned by Joe Mansueto.
Atlanta United sign former Toronto FC goalkeeper Westberg: Atlanta United have signed veteran goalkeeper Quentin Westberg through the 2023 season. The 36-year-old, a product of the ES Troyes AC academy, spent over a decade playing in his native France before arriving in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC in 2019.
CF Montréal sign Campbell to multi-year contract extension: CF Montréal have signed defender George Campbell to a contract extension through the 2025 MLS season with an option for 2026. The 21-year-old center back initially joined CFMTL in mid-December via a trade from Atlanta United. In three seasons with Atlanta, the US youth international had one goal across 36 regular-season games (22 starts).
Vancouver Whitecaps extend Alexandre's loan in Brazil: Vancouver Whitecaps FC have extended midfielder Caio Alexandre’s loan to Brazilian Série A side Fortaleza EC through December 2023. The new loan agreement includes an obligation to purchase if certain performance triggers are met. Alexandre originally joined Fortaleza on loan last August.
- Tesho Akindele has turned to "building the better neighborhood" after his MLS career.
- The MLS community paid tribute to late Brazilian soccer icon Pelé.
- USMNT captain Tyler Adams hinted at Copa América 2024 participation for the USMNT.
- Six MLS players were named among the most promising U-21 talents worldwide.
- Tom “Baby Scoop Year” Bogert looked at MLS players that might just be targets for European clubs.
- Joe Lowery examined four tactical trends that defined the 2022 MLS season.
- Jonathan Sigal picked out the 22 biggest storylines that defined the 2022 MLS season.
- Hernán Losada says he’s ready to "be a better coach" for CF Montréal.
- I delivered you the 30 wildest moments from the 2022 MLS season.
Good luck out there. Get this one right.
