Theres a lot of heat right now for him to the crew. Al Ahly fined him for his (or his agent's) antics. 8.5+Add ons+20% sell on is the current rumor. Al Ahly could also be holding on until later in the window. There are striker moves to be done with Isak and Luiz Diaz (the good one) trying to force their ways out. A midtier team could need a replacement. Similarly, the heat for gio to LAFC also warming. He'd likely be a DP unless he and dortmund take some medicine on his worth.
Gio would be a moron not to make a move to MLS and get guaranteed playing time leading into the world cup. No way he isn't a DP. He has got to get minutes somewhere.
And LAFC is the only team, (aside from Miami, where he wouldnt fit,) in MLS thats big enough to suit his (and the old mans) ego.
Are they getting paid in crypto or something? Maybe they get paid in Swiss francs at Credit Suisse? The Russian Ruble has collapsed to less than a penny and it's hard to transfer money out of Russia these days with the sanctions in place. Moscow is an expensive city as well. Unless they like the lack of European competition saving wear and tear on their body, it's hard to see why someone with options would go to Russia.
Be confused all you want, but South Americans, specifically Brazilians, playing in Russia is very common. Clearly it is in fact beneficial and doable. So maybe take up your confusion with all the guys who clearly found it to be a beneficial deal. Also, Brazil is very much aligned with Russia. Especially economically. They are the B in BRICS, and Russia is the R. Your concerns would be somewhat valid for someone coming from a non-BRICS country, specifically one of the more influential western countries like the US, GB, Germany, France, etc.
I forgot to change Herrera's details. Loan extended thru June 2026, option to buy. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/columbus-crew-extend-andres-herrera-loan-deal 0. Crew Spring Roster Profile https://mlssoccer.app.box.com/s/84t29b7ao8ggrfhp3vzky5h00f2qhbfu Summary: 26 total DP (2/3): Rossi, Nagbe (+ now Gazdag) U22 (0/1): added Aliyu since TAM level (4): Moreira, Schulte, Cheberko, Herrera. Senior (9): Amundsen, Camacho, Zawadzki, Farsi, Arfsten, Lappalainen, Chambost, D. Jones, Sejdic. Supplemental (9/10): Hagan, Bush, Romero, Jackson, JRR, Ruvalcaba, Habroune, Mrowka, Lapkes (+ added Brown). -------- INT (7): Moreira, Farsi, Cheberko, Camacho, Chambost, Herrera, Lappalainen. Accordingly, I have shifted Schulte to Senior, and moved JRR/AZ to 21-25, assuming they make enough this year. Also, updated the ages. ------------ I. Senior Roster (1-20). 18 of 20. Counts vs the salary budget of $5,950,000. Max salary budget charge is $743,750. Teams not required to fill spots 19 & 20. A minimum salary budget charge is imputed vs the club for unfilled spots below 18. In addition to the $5.95 mil budget, teams can spend outside this figure via GAM, TAM, DP & U22 costs outside the Salary Budget, and the Supplemental Roster costs. https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/roster-rules-and-regulations Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$, Guar $$ 1. Diego Rossi, WF, 27, 3/5/98, 5'7", 143, Uruguay, DP, GC. $2,725,000, $3,426,827. Thru '26, '27 O. 2. Daniel Gazdag, AM, 29, 3/2/96, 5'10", 168, Hungary, DP#2, GC. $2,000,00, $2,597,643. Thru '27, O '28 3. Darlington Nagbe, CM, 34, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, DP#3/TAM. $1.425,000, $1.565,833. Thru '25. O '26. 4. Patrick Schulte, GK, 24, 3/13/01, 6'5", 200, USA, TAM. $825k, $957,083. Thru '27, TO in '28. 5. Steven Moreira, D, 30, 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France/Cape Verde Islands, INT#1, TAM. $820k, $902k. Thru '25, O '26. 6. Andres Herrera, FB/WB, 26, 11/03/98, 5'10", 165, Argentina, INT#2, TAM. $650k, $737,158. Loan thru summer '26. Option to buy 7. Malte Amundsen, WB, 27, 2/11/98, 5'10", 179, Denmark. $624,996, $697,496. Thru '27. Not INT. 8. Yevhen Cheberko, CB, 27, 1/23/98, 6'0", 166, Ukraine, INT#3. $610k, $658,250. Thru '26 (June). O for rest of '26. 9. Rudy Camacho, CB, 34, 3/5/91, 6'1", 174, France, INT#4. $525k/$601k. Thru '25. 10. Dylan Chambost, MF, 27, 8/19/97, 5'10", 154, France, INT#5. $450k, $557,219. Thru '26, '27 O. 11. Ibrahim Aliyu, F, 23, 1/16/02, 6'0", 169, Nigeria, U22. $474,996, $526,375. Thru '25, O in '26 & '27. Not INT. 12. Mohamed Farsi, D/M, 25, 12/16/99, 5'10", Algeria/Canada, INT#6. $425k, $455k. Thru '27, O '28. 13. Sean Zawadzki, M, 25, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG. $400k, $446,870. Thru '27. 14. Max Arfsten, F/W, 24, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA. $350k, $389,375. Thru '27. O '28. 15. Derrick Jones, DM/CB, HG, 27, 3/3/97, 6'4", 176, Ghana/USA. $350k, $387,500. Thru '25, '26 O. 16. Lassi Lappalainen, M, 26, 8/24/98, 6'0", 168, Finland, INT#7. $325k, $368,750. Thru '25, O '26. 17. Hugo Picard, F/M, 22, 5/09/03, 5'6", 160, France, U22, INT#8. $$???. ------Vet Min Line------ 18. Amar Sejdic, CM, 28, 11/29/96, 5'10", 159, Germany/USA. $104k, $118,550. Thru '25, O in '26. -------------- 19. Open (Hagan) 20. Open (Bush) ------------- Sejdic, Hagan & Bush & Romero are on vet min deals, and could be in either spot. I listed the latter 3 on Supp, as does the MLS Profile. ----------------------- II. Supplemental Roster (21-30) (10 of 10) Does NOT count versus the salary budget of any team. All Generation Adidas players are Supplemental Players during the initial guaranteed term of their contract. A. Spots 21-24. (Supplemental). 4 of 4. All players in Slots 21-24 must make a base salary at least equal to the Senior Minimum Salary ($104,000 in 2025). These slots may be filled with: Senior Min players ($104k) which may include: i) HGs, ii) Gen Adidas, iii) designated Superdraft eligible players, or iv) Homegrown players who may or may not earn more than Sen Min due to the HG Subsidy. Players in slots 21-24 must make at least $104,000. Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Nicholas Hagan, GK, 28, 8/2/96, 6'4", 176, Guatemala/USA. $104k, $122,600. Thru '26, O in '27 & '28. 22. Evan Bush, GK, 39, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA, $104k/$104k. Thru '25. 23. Abraham Romero, GK, 27, 2/18/98, 6'2", 185, USA, $104k/$104k. Thru '25. 24. Jacen Russell-Rowe, CF, 22, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG. $120k, $127,389. Thru '25, O '26. ----------------- As Sen Min guys who could technically be Senior, Hagen & Bush & Romero get the first three spots here. They make too much and are too old to be #25-#28. Romero is too old to be roster spots #25-28, so that is an obvious mistake on the main MLS page. I gave the last spot here to JRR, though it could be AZ (which is the case on the Profile page) or Habroune as well. All 3 are HGs making more than the Reserve Min of $80,622 in base. I gave it to JRR because he seems higher in the pecking order and makes more $$ in base salary. It does not really matter. --------------------- B. Slots 25-30. (Reserve). 6 of 6. Must be paid a base salary of at least the Reserve Min salary ($80,622). Must be 24 years of age or younger during the league year (by year of birth). May be filled with Reserve Min players ($80,622) which may include GA's earning Reserve Min, HGs, or HG's earning more than Reserve Min via the HG subsidy. Cannot be filled with Sen Min Players (unless a HG earning more via HG subsidy). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $ 25. Aziel Jackson, MF, 23, 10/25/01, 5'9", 154, USA, HG, $104k, $107,982. Thru '25. 26. Taha Habroune, M, 18, 2/5/06, 5'8", 168, USA, HG. $104k/$116k. Thru '27, O '28. 27. Ceasar Ruvalcaba, D, 23, 7/13/01, 6'2", 170, USA, $80,622/$80,622. Thru '25, O in '26 & '27. 28. Tristan Brown, M, 17, 10/17/07, ??, ??, USA, HG. $???. Thru '28, O in '29 & '30. ------- 29. Cole Mrowka, MF, 18, 4/6/06, 5'11", 165, USA, HG. $80,622, $100,630. Thru '26. TO '27 & '28. 30. Stanislav Lapkes, GK, 19, 3/3/06, 6'4", 176, Belarus/USA, HG. $80,622,$99,712. Thru '27. O '28/'29. HG subsidy is $125,000 per year in aggregate. Plus $200k of GAM/TAM can be used to sign HGs to their 1st contract. ------------- Again, MLS Profile has JRR as 25-28 & AZ 21-24, but I switched them. Though AZ is a year older. They coukd be either place, ditto Habroune. Ruvalcaba must be 25-28 due to his salary & the fact he isn't a HG (cannot be 29-30). Brown, Mrowka, and Lapkes could be anywhere 28-30 as all are HGs, but I put Brown top because he has played more ----------- III. Loan/Stash Roste: (Slot 31) Slot 31 can be filled by a player 24 or younger who is on a season long loan to a lower division club in in the USA or Canada, provided his Budget Charge is </= the Sen Min Charge ($104k) and the MLS club does not exercise any recall options during the MLS season (save for short term call-ups). 31. Open ------------------------ III. International Players (8 of 8) We traded 1 slot to SD for 100k Garberbux. https://www.sandiegofc.com/news/san...-international-roster-slot-from-columbus-crew And got one for twice as much ($200k GAM & a 1st round pick. Nice job Issa! https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/c...oster-slot-via-trade-with-the-colorado-rapids Got 1 for Jones to SJ: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/san-jose-earthquakes-acquire-dejuan-jones-from-columbus-crew Traded one to HOU for Garberbucks ($250k in GAM, $125 this & next year). https://www.houstondynamofc.com/new...-international-roster-slot-from-columbus-crew Moreira, Farsi, Cheberko, Camacho, Chambost, Herrera, Lappalainen, Picard. Again, the Amundsen mystery remains. But he firmly is NOT an INT. Nor is Gazdag or Aliyu. Additionally, MLS has Moreira, Chambost, and Herrera as domestic, which is clearly wrong. Though the Roster Profiles has it correct MLS had Aliyu as INT in 2024, but not in 2025. So he does not count. New verbiage for 2024, do NOT need a Green Card. "For a player to be considered a Domestic Player in the applicable season, residency must be established, or the player has to have appeared for an immigrant visa interview by the opening of the Secondary Transfer Window." https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-...new-sporting-initiatives-ahead-of-2024-season ------------ IV. Green Card Holders/Counts as Domestic (4). Rossi (Green Card). JRR (International HG Rule). Hagan (USA parent/ passport), Gazdag (not an INT slot), Aliyu (not an INT). https://mlssoccer.app.box.com/s/84t29b7ao8ggrfhp3vzky5h00f2qhbfu Amundsen does not count as an INT for reasons I do not understand. But he does not have a GC either as far as I know. I could be wrong about that. https://mlssoccer.app.box.com/s/84t29b7ao8ggrfhp3vzky5h00f2qhbfu ------------ V. DP + U22 Initiative Slots (5 of 6) Team can choose 2 paths. One, 3 DPs + 3 U22s. Two, 2 DPs plus 4 U22s + $2 mil in GAM. Teams must decide by the close of the transfer window this year and start of the year going forward. DPs = 3 of 3 1. Rossi 2. Gazdag 3. Nagbe (can be bought down) U22s = 2 of 3 1. Aliyu 2. Picard 3. Open U22 players count $200k vs the budget if the are aged 22-25. $150k is 21 or younger. U22 players must be on their initial MLS contract unless they are HGs (2nd), and must sign it before turning 22. Can continue to occupy the slot until the year they turn 25. Salary cannot exceed Max Budget unless it is a HG/Superdraft on 2nd contract, who can earn Max Budget +$200k. Clubs may pay acquisition costs without limit (out of pocket, no GAM/TAM). Crew choose 3+3 path for 2025, but can change midseason. Aliyu is s U22 via Houston's roster profile. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-announces-significant-roster-rule-changes --------------
For both players it would work well. Gio would definitely benefit playing for the Best coach on the planet. Pyramid King would be in a better spot all things considered. Let's do this. Call Tall
TransferMarkt has Abou Ali as 47% of joining Crew and 41% chance of joining RBNY. That’s the first I have seen them linked to him. Not sure of the source but they’re pretty good at the rumor links.
I was told LAFC and Charlotte are the biggest threats to our preferred target. Idk for sure that the preferred target is Ali but if it is, I haven't heard about NYRB.
It's looking more like it will be Wessam. All the intel is that he's pushing to come here rather than Issa needing to court him. I can't help but feel like it's buying high on a very risky proposition. The Crew paid $7 million for Lucas and $9 million for Cucho. Abou Ali's rumored base fee in a deal with Columbus will fall right in the middle of that range, and almost no one knew about him until his hat trick a couple weeks ago. The thing about the hat trick: one of the goals was a PK and another was more attributable to poor defense and goalkeeping than anything else. Only one of the three was a striker's goal. The Egyptian league doesn't have a history of producing great talent, and I've already said how his playing style and work rate doesn't look like a fit for Nancyball. He seems like more of an upgraded Ramirez than a Cucho replacement. Then you throw in something new I just read on X: he has chronic heart problems. He's passed out twice during games and that required him to get a pacemaker. He hasn't had an incident since the pacemaker was installed but it's alarming for a well-conditioned athlete in his mid-20s to need that. I'll candidly be disappointed if this is the big signing after two mostly empty windows. I'll still be questioning Issa's ability to evaluate and recruit talent. But if he's the guy, I hope this post will get bumped regularly for the next couple years so you can all laugh at me.
Those two would make a lot more sense for him imo. LAFC run a traditional counter-attacking system that doesn't ask much of the forwards defensively and he would pair well with Bouanga as a pure striker. Charlotte just sold Agyemang so they're in the market for a traditional CF as well at the top of the formation. The Crew need a roaming hybrid #9/#10 to pair with Rossi and Gazdag rather than a pure #9. We've seen how that looks already with JRR in the middle of the front three. It won't be enough to beat Miami.
I won’t be disappointed I’ll be mad. But I’m sure there will be people on here saying it’s a great move and to trust the process…. Don’t piss on my shoes and tell me it’s raining
I will respectfully disagree here. We need a CF/F type. Reyna isn't one, and he's always hurt. And we just signed an attacking mid/wide mid type in Picard. While I'd much prefer a player from a top league, Al Ahly is as good as it gets in Africa, and the dude had a Hat Trick at the CWC. People are acting like Porto is Auckland City or something. Sheesh. And at least Ali plays the position we need help at. Hard pass on Reyna.
It would appear so. Al Ahly Fines Wessam Abou Ali Amid Ongoing Transfer links to Columbus Crew - Foot Africa He's also currently at war with the fans, refusing to show up for therapy, skipping an appointment for a scan related to his injury, getting fined "heavily" by his club and otherwise acting for all the world like someone who is actively burning bridges. And that leaves aside the fact that, apparently, he's currently injured.
He's probably "injured", and not injured. If you catch my drift. With that being said, this guy has a serious red flag...his heart. Literally. He collapsed during a match just weeks after Christian Ericksen's collapse during the Euros in 2021. A defibrillator had to be used to stabilize him before rushing him to the hospital. As a result, he had to have a pacemaker implanted. He's managed to play the last few seasons without any further heart issues, but it's definitely a huge risk. This guy could be an absolute baller, but I feel like there's too many question marks and concerns surrounding him to make the signing worth it.
I honestly don't care how much we pay to get him, really. Unless it somehow precludes another move we can make, and are willing to. I mean, the cap hit is fixed (assuming he is a DP). Above that is out of picket for Haslam/Edwards. Now, if we somehow, potentially, have enough GAM/TAM/Garberbucks from the Morris & Cucho sales to buy his (or someone else's) acquisition costs down to below DP level, so a lower cost means enabling another acquisition, the I care about the cost. But IDK if that is even possible, are transfer proceeds just $$ or are they also GAM/TAM? IDK. The heart stuff is something I did not know, that is good info. But, it also happened in 2021. That is a while back, now. Erickson has also been playing without incident. The the MD's have cleared him, it looks like problem solved. Minor flag. But other than CWC, I have no earthly idea about his quality. While I was hoping for Cucho 2.0, Ramirez 2.0 would still help. And if itcraises Rossi & Gazdag up, it will help even more.