At least we'd get to see some good slide tackles again! It's been a long time since Mais and Frankie donned the boots
How soon they forget, remember Matan’s beautiful slide tackle during the League’s Cup final against LAFC?
Well, if he was doing this for a better national team at 23, he’d be outside our budget. Even if he’s getting destroyed, at least it’s some extra experience against better teams while still being fairly young at CB. Just trying to look at the positives, man.
Yea getting international caps is always nice in terms of developing and growing as a player, regardless of how bad your national team is. I'm definitely not discounting that. All I'm saying is getting caps and captaining one of the worst national teams in the world is no more impressive than being a starter for Crew 2.
There is no shortage of good or even great players who played for mediocre to bad national team. George Weah comes to mind. And Miktaryan (sp) for Roma and ManU. Tim Cahill from Australia. Lots more.
Does this mean we'll get all of the Pakistanis commenting on the Crew's social media posts if he doesn't start, like what happened with Hagen? Speaking of that, I remember going to the away game in Montreal the last two years, and Hagen was swarmed by a few Guatemalan fans asking for autographs, selfies, etc. He's a rockstar.
I'm sure we would see a bit of that. And due to the sheer population of Pakistan (nearly 250 million), we'd probably see a decent bump in people following/paying attention to us. I highly doubt he would be getting the rockstar treatment Hagen gets though. Guatemalans are crazy about the sport, and Hagen actually played professionally there for a number of years for one of their top 2 biggest clubs.
I recall back a few years when the Gals signed that Korean guy. Name escapes me. No matter where they played, Columbus, New England or the far side of the moon, about 100 Koreans showed up.
Under the new rules, yes. Time was the league sucked it all up on the pretense that since they held the contracts, they got the dough. Theyd trickle down a pittance to the teams if they felt like it but it was never that much. But the owners got tired of that shit and changed the rules. Now the teams get at least 95 percent of fees and may get all of it depending on what phase the moon is in. Or something. So yes, the Crew is in for a nice payday. Still waiting to see dime one out of Brian McBride, but it looks good going forward.
Belated update for: 1) Signings/promotions of MF Zach Zengue and GK Luke Pruter to first team contracts. Pruter signed thru '26 with options in '27 & '28. Zengue signed thru '26, with options in '27, '28, and '29. https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/c...keeper-luke-pruter-and-midfielder-zach-zengue 2) Extension for Zawadzki. Release said they 2030. No mention of option years. https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/c...ean-zawadzki-to-multi-year-contract-extension Thoughts. I like locking Zawadzki up. He is quality. Be it CB, RCB, LCB, or CM. Zengue & Pruter make 30. That is full. Yes, I know we can still make moves, and technically the loan spot is open. The roster isn't frozen, but any more additions means some subtraction, be it loan, trade, or release. Seems to me 5 GKs is one too many. That said, of the 30, there are only 16 that I'd say are for sure Senior players. 3 Senior Min/Supplemental types: Bush, Sejdic, Hagan + 11 HG/Supplemental types: JRR, Habroune, Ruvalcaba, Brown, Mrowka, Lapkes, Adams, Presthus, Elliot, Zengue, and Pruter. In terms of who goes where, I'll need salary info to say for sure. I put the three Senior Min guys on Senior, but there is one spot left. I gave that to JRR, as the guy with the most experience with the team & the highest salary. Ruvalcaba actually does not make enough to be 21-24. So IDK who the other 3 would be, but he is certainly the guy with the most experience, other than Habroune. And the oldest of the non-senior players along with Pruter. Salary details are still from 2025. I will post the new info when MLS links with the new info are live. Like Minnman says, roster compliance isn't here yet, so everything does not have to fit. For 21-24, I eliminated players making under Senior Min Salary last year. That left I Habroune (furthest along), Adams (highest profile new signing), and I put Zengue & Pruter in the other two. Pruter since he was ahead of Lapkes at Crew2 & older. Zengue because there has to be another. Presthus would be my next guess. IDK if I trust "reports out of Argentina," so I will hold off on changing Herrera's info for now. ---------- I. Roster Links A. MLS Fall 2025 Roster Profiles https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/majo...-roster-profiles-following-2025-roster-freeze B. 2025 MLS Roster Rules & Regs https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/roster-rules-and-regulations C. Fall 2025 Salary Info & 2026 FA links Please note the FA list is only for those players who are FA's in the winter of 2025. So contracts/loans that expite in June (Herrera, Cheberko) ate not listed, nor are players who are out of contract but do not meet the age/years of service requirements to be MLS free agents (Aliyu?). https://mlsplayers.org/resources/salary-guide https://mlsplayers.org/news/2026-free-agent-list -------------------- II. Signed Roster A. Senior Roster (1-20). 16 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. 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. $2,000,004, $2,597,643. Thru '27, O '28. 3. Wessam Abou Ali, F, 26, 1/4/99, 6'1", 172, Denmark/Palestine, DP, INT#1. $1.8 mil/$2,157,375. Thru '27, O '28. 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, 31 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France/Cape Verde Islands, TAM. $820k, $902k. O '26. Senior. 6. Andres Herrera, FB/WB, 27, 11/03/98, 5'10", 165, Argentina, INT#2, TAM. $650k, $737,158. Loan thru summer '26. O to buy. 7. Hugo Picard, F/M, 22, 5/09/03, 5'6",160, France, U22, INT#3. $675k/$731,244. Thru '28, O '29. 8. Malte Amundsen, WB, 27, 2/11/98, 5'10", 179, Denmark. $624,996/$697,496. Thru '27. Not INT. 9. Yevhen Cheberko, CB, 27, 1/23/98, 6'0", 166, Ukraine, INT#4. $610k, $658,250. Thru '26 (June). O for rest of '26. 10. Dylan Chambost, MF, 28, 8/19/97, 5'10", 154, France. $450k, $557,219. Thru '26, '27 O. 11. Ibrahim Aliyu, F, 23, 1/16/02, 6'0", 169, Nigeria, U22. $474,996/$526,375. O in '26 & '27. Not INT. Senior. 12. Mohamed Farsi, D/M, 25, 12/16/99, 5'10", Algeria/Canada, INT#5. $425k, $455k. Thru '27, O '28. 13. Sean Zawadzki, M, 25, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG. $400k, $446,870. Thru '30. 14. Max Arfsten, F/W, 24, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA. $350k, $389,375. Thru '27. O '28. 15. Rudy Camacho, CB, 34, 3/5/91, 6'1", 174, France, INT#6. $???. Thru '26. 16. Sekou Bangoura, CM, 23, 4/5/02, 5'8", Guinea, INT#7, $??, Thru '29, O '30. -----------Vet Min Line--------- 17. Evan Bush, GK, 39, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA. Likely vet min. Thru '26. 18. Amar Sejdic, CM, 28, 11/29/96, 5'10", 159, Germany/USA. $104k, $118,550. O in '26. Vet Min/Supp. 19. Nicholas Hagan, GK, 29, 8/2/96, 6'4", 176, Guatemala/USA. $104k, $122,600. Thru '26, O in '27 & '28. ----------------------- 20. Jacen Russell-Rowe, CF, 23, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG. $120k, $130,789. Thru '26. ------------- Vet Min could be Senior or Supplemental. B. Supplemental Roster (21-30) 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. 1) Spots 21-24. (Supplemental). 2 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. Taha Habroune, M, 19, 2/5/06, 5'8", 168, USA, HG. $104k/$116k. Thru '27, O '28. 22. Zach Zengue, MF, 21, 1/30/04, 5'9", 160, USA, HG, $$??. Thru '26, O thru '29. 23. Luke Pruter, GK, 24, 9/3/01, 6'5", 207, USA. Thru '26, O thru '28. 24. Chase Adams, CF, 17, 4/17/08, 6'0", 160, USA, HG, $$??. Thru '29, O '30. --------------------- 2) 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 $$/Guar 25. Ceasar Ruvalcaba, D, 24, 7/13/01, 6'2", 170, USA, $80,622. Thru '25, O in '26 & '27. 26. Tristan Brown, M, 18, 10/17/07, 5'11", 159, USA, HG. $80,622/$84,986. Thru '28, O in '29 & '30. 27. Cole Mrowka, MF, 19, 4/6/06, 5'11", 165, USA, HG. $80,622, $100,630. Thru '26. TO '27 & '28. 28. Stanislav Lapkes, GK, 19, 3/3/06, 6'4", 176, Belarus/USA, HG. $80,622, $99,712. Thru '27. O '28/'29. 29. Owen Presthus, D, 19, 2/21/06, 5'10", 154, USA, HG, $??. Thru '27, O '28. 30. Quinton Elliot, D/M, 21, 1/30/04, 5'10", 159, USA, HG. $$??. Thru '26, O '27-'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. ----------------- C. Loan/Stash Roster: (Slot 31). 0 of 1. 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. Draft Picks (2) 1. Tarun Karumanchi, M, UCLA 2. Isaac Heffess, D, NC State --------- IV. International Players (7 of 8) Abou Ali, Farsi, Herrera, Cheberko, Camacho, Picard, Bangoura. 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 ------------ V. Green Card Holders/Counts as Domestic (4). Rossi (Green Card), Gazdag (not an INT slot), Hagan (USA parent/ passport), (no longer listed), Chambost (no longer listed). Again, the Amundsen mystery remains. But he firmly is NOT an INT. Nor is Gazdag. Nor is Chambost as of last year. Moreira started counting as domestic on the Fall 25 roster profile update, along with Chambost. ------------ VI. 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. Ali 3. Gazdag U22s = 2 of 3 1. Picard 2. Aliyu 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. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-announces-significant-roster-rule ------ As always, correct my mistakes.
Fixed header counts. And I think 14/30 spots filled with Vet Min/Supplemental types is WAAAY too high for a team supposedly trying to win. ---------- I. Roster Links A. MLS Fall 2025 Roster Profiles https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/majo...-roster-profiles-following-2025-roster-freeze B. 2025 MLS Roster Rules & Regs https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/roster-rules-and-regulations C. Fall 2025 Salary Info & 2026 FA links Please note the FA list is only for those players who are FA's in the winter of 2025. So contracts/loans that expite in June (Herrera, Cheberko) ate not listed, nor are players who are out of contract but do not meet the age/years of service requirements to be MLS free agents (Aliyu?). https://mlsplayers.org/resources/salary-guide https://mlsplayers.org/news/2026-free-agent-list -------------------- II. Signed Roster A. Senior Roster (1-20). 20 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. 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. $2,000,004, $2,597,643. Thru '27, O '28. 3. Wessam Abou Ali, F, 26, 1/4/99, 6'1", 172, Denmark/Palestine, DP, INT#1. $1.8 mil/$2,157,375. Thru '27, O '28. 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, 31 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France/Cape Verde Islands, TAM. $820k, $902k. Thru '26. 6. Andres Herrera, FB/WB, 27, 11/03/98, 5'10", 165, Argentina, INT#2, TAM. $650k, $737,158. Loan thru summer '26. O to buy. 7. Hugo Picard, F/M, 22, 5/09/03, 5'6",160, France, U22, INT#3. $675k/$731,244. Thru '28, O '29. 8. Malte Amundsen, WB, 27, 2/11/98, 5'10", 179, Denmark. $624,996/$697,496. Thru '27. Not INT. 9. Yevhen Cheberko, CB, 27, 1/23/98, 6'0", 166, Ukraine, INT#4. $610k, $658,250. Thru '26 (June). O for rest of '26. 10. Dylan Chambost, MF, 28, 8/19/97, 5'10", 154, France. $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 '26, O in '27. Not INT. 12. Mohamed Farsi, D/M, 25, 12/16/99, 5'10", Algeria/Canada, INT#5. $425k, $455k. Thru '27, O '28. 13. Sean Zawadzki, M, 25, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG. $400k, $446,870. Thru '30. 14. Max Arfsten, F/W, 24, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA. $350k, $389,375. Thru '27. O '28. 15. Rudy Camacho, CB, 34, 3/5/91, 6'1", 174, France, INT#6. $???. Thru '26. 16. Sekou Bangoura, CM, 23, 4/5/02, 5'8", Guinea, INT#7, $??, Thru '29, O '30. -----------Vet Min Line--------- 17. Evan Bush, GK, 39, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA. Likely vet min. Thru '26. 18. Amar Sejdic, CM, 28, 11/29/96, 5'10", 159, Germany/USA. $104k, $118,550. Thru '26. Vet Min/Supp. 19. Nicholas Hagan, GK, 29, 8/2/96, 6'4", 176, Guatemala/USA. $104k, $122,600. Thru '26, O in '27 & '28. ----------------------- 20. Jacen Russell-Rowe, CF, 23, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG. $120k, $130,789. Thru '26. ------------- Vet Min could be Senior or Supplemental. B. Supplemental Roster (21-30) 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. 1) 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. Taha Habroune, M, 19, 2/5/06, 5'8", 168, USA, HG. $104k/$116k. Thru '27, O '28. 22. Zach Zengue, MF, 21, 1/30/04, 5'9", 160, USA, HG, $$??. Thru '26, O thru '29. 23. Luke Pruter, GK, 24, 9/3/01, 6'5", 207, USA. Thru '26, O thru '28. 24. Chase Adams, CF, 17, 4/17/08, 6'0", 160, USA, HG, $$??. Thru '29, O '30. --------------------- 2) 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 $$/Guar 25. Ceasar Ruvalcaba, D, 24, 7/13/01, 6'2", 170, USA, $80,622. Thru '26, O in '27. 26. Tristan Brown, M, 18, 10/17/07, 5'11", 159, USA, HG. $80,622/$84,986. Thru '28, O in '29 & '30. 27. Cole Mrowka, MF, 19, 4/6/06, 5'11", 165, USA, HG. $80,622, $100,630. Thru '26. TO '27 & '28. 28. Stanislav Lapkes, GK, 19, 3/3/06, 6'4", 176, Belarus/USA, HG. $80,622, $99,712. Thru '27. O '28/'29. 29. Owen Presthus, D, 19, 2/21/06, 5'10", 154, USA, HG, $??. Thru '27, O '28. 30. Quinton Elliot, D/M, 21, 1/30/04, 5'10", 159, USA, HG. $$??. Thru '26, O '27-'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. ----------------- C. Loan/Stash Roster: (Slot 31). 0 of 1. 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. Draft Picks (2) 1. Tarun Karumanchi, M, UCLA 2. Isaac Heffess, D, NC State --------- IV. International Players (7 of 8) Abou Ali, Farsi, Herrera, Cheberko, Camacho, Picard, Bangoura. 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 ------------ V. Green Card Holders/Counts as Domestic (4). Rossi (Green Card), Gazdag (not an INT slot), Hagan (USA parent/ passport), (no longer listed), Chambost (no longer listed). Again, the Amundsen mystery remains. But he firmly is NOT an INT. Nor is Gazdag. Nor is Chambost as of last year. Moreira started counting as domestic on the Fall 25 roster profile update, along with Chambost. ------------ VI. 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. Ali 3. Gazdag U22s = 2 of 3 1. Picard 2. Aliyu 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. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-announces-significant-roster-rule ------ As always, correct my mistakes.
This is the incoming GAM without any deductions. So once the books are balanced on February 21, it will look different. It might include completed GAM related transfer transactions since the end of last season.