You never know. We might show a touch of Bolivian boldness.A big money move within the league..this team?
2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
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ZYanksRule
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A big money move within the league..this team?
I know, I know. But to be fair, this new cash transfer system just went into effect so maybe the team would consider it. I kind of understand why they wouldn't want to trade TAM/GAM for players, but a cash transfer of a star DP seems different and a lot more palatable.
But yes, they keep trying to prove how smart they are by finding players no one has ever heard of, and there's no reason to believe that will change.
Next Friday...
NYC FC have signed the Hungarian DeBruyne.. at 19 years old he has a wealth of experience and potential. We are looking forward to seeing him develop and bring immediate impact to the team.
If the club wants the $15M so be it. But IMO once you leave and come back you forfeit the right to demand another move. Santi. Sands. Maxi. Stay. Go. Pick one.
When you go, you're gone. I don't care if it's a loan. It's up to you to make it work. If you come back I want you broken and crying "I've got no where else to go!" like Richard Gere and then show some loyalty.
When you go, you're gone. I don't care if it's a loan. It's up to you to make it work. If you come back I want you broken and crying "I've got no where else to go!" like Richard Gere and then show some loyalty.
ZYanksRule
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Do we know that Santi "demanded" this move or did this Brazilian team come over the top with an offer we couldn't refuse, the way we lost Gabby? I haven't seen anything to indicate that Santi was pushing for a move in any way.
This could just be a move where a team is willing to give us far above market value for a player, making it impracticable to decline.
This Santi situation is exactly why slow multi-year rebuilds are a bad idea in MLS and why good teams don't do them. Players are always going to leave and if they are truly offering $15M for Santi we'd be crazy not to take it. We spent 3 years in slow rebuild mode only to end up in another rebuild with the departures of Magno, Sands, and Santi.
DP spots need to be used on difference makers and when one leaves they need to be replaced quickly. U22 spots should be used on players capable of contributing at a minimum of league average level upon arrival with possible upside from there. Not, these players that are so inexperienced they need 1 year+ to even get up to a level where they can be average-level MLS players. The best teams in the league build their rosters to be cup contenders every season, there is no reason to do multiyear rebuilds in MLS.
DP spots need to be used on difference makers and when one leaves they need to be replaced quickly. U22 spots should be used on players capable of contributing at a minimum of league average level upon arrival with possible upside from there. Not, these players that are so inexperienced they need 1 year+ to even get up to a level where they can be average-level MLS players. The best teams in the league build their rosters to be cup contenders every season, there is no reason to do multiyear rebuilds in MLS.
For better or worse, that's exactly the model the organization has explicitly rejected in favor of scout, develop and sell.
But I don't think we're perpetually going to be in a multi-year rebuild. I believe we were in a two-season transition to a new business model, and this season it's complete. Now it's a matter of whether that model will work in terms of contending for titles on a consistent basis. It's not so much a matter of rebuilding as renewing the squad each season.
Or at least that's the idea. If they're wrong, we're going to be locked in mid-table mediocrity. Which would suck.
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I don't know. Which is why I said if the club wants the $15M they should take it. Maybe that's driving this.
And I know we have to let him go regardless if he is pushing this. But if he is then GFRO.
This is why I'm voting for Freese over Maxi in the Survivor Pool. Maxi left.
You want to retire in your home country and at the club of your youth? Lovely. Blessings.
Oh you're not playing as much as you hoped? Fine. If you're useful. But my affection is waning.
ZYanksRule
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Could not agree more with this. There were mistakes made in 2023 and hopefully we don't see those same mistakes creep up in 2025. I still think, even with Santi leaving, we are still a good enough team in MLS. But only if we suffer no injuries because our depth is now gone. I do think we are 2-3 good signings from being a team that can contend for a title this season, but the odds of making the right signings probably aren't great.
Club culture is so important. I want guys who bleed sky blue. If we're seen as just a steppingstone, then guess what: we're just a steppingstone.
That doesn't mean players shouldn't be ambitious. Careers are short and you're a young man when your time is up. You gotta make it when you can. I get that. And since we've made an explicit promise to help players develop and move on to bigger things, opportunities MLS can't provide (yet), it's going to happen.
But while you're here, you're all about us. And if you move on, it's "good luck, thanks for everything, next man up."
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I see you perspective but I also think youāre treating a club legend harshly. Yes he made a mistake by leaving. But he came back and gave our club a fighting chance with our shambolic offensive connection. I think he has ārepentedā when he gave up his DP contract and is willing to be a bench player. At the current moment he is not the solution but heās definitely a stop gap until they sign an actual DP level #10. Itās poor business of the front office thinks heās our 10 for the season at this spot in his career.
Worries me that De Bruyne's contract expires in june. I am willing to bet the team's gonna be like "ya we can wait until June to sign de bruyne!" and then he comes over and it's july before he's playing.
I really hope we have something good lined up. Don't give me some brazilian up and coming kid. Get me an Almiron "we know he's damn freakin' good" pls and thanks.
I really hope we have something good lined up. Don't give me some brazilian up and coming kid. Get me an Almiron "we know he's damn freakin' good" pls and thanks.
I completely agree with you on the need for 2-3 signingsāthat was the point I was trying to make in my last comment, though I didnāt articulate it well. This team does a better job than most MLS clubs in building a solid roster foundation. Our SuperDraft picks hit more often than not, our academy consistently produces quality players, and we excel at mid-level acquisitions like Wolf, Perea, MartĆnez, and Freese.
However, since Lee took over, the team has been awful at utilizing high-end roster mechanismsāthe difference between a solid playoff team and a true title contender. They waste DP spots, go cheap, or take forever to fill them. Our U22 slots are spent on ultra-raw, expensive, high-upside prospects who take years to develop instead of players ready to contribute immediately.
Last season, if we had quickly filled Magnoās DP spot with a difference-maker and used at least one U22 slot on a player ready to perform at an MLS-average level from day one, I genuinely believe we would have beaten Red Bull in the playoffs and played for the Cup.
As you said, if they move quickly to fill key open spots with true difference-makers, we can rebuild on the fly and be legitimate contenders. But if they drag their feet on replacing Santi and Sands and leave the Magno DP and Jovan slots unfilled just because those players are on loan, theyāll throw away another season. And I donāt want to hear David Leeās usual āour goal is to compete for trophies every seasonā nonsense.
correct me if i'm wrong, but if santi wants to stay then even if the club is offered 20mill, they can't just make him leave, right?
maybe santi enjoys life here. maybe he thinks playing in MLS is a better path to europe or the national team, depending on his ambition. but i'm with mgarbowski, if he wants to leave, then leave. i'm off the same mindset as pep, if you don't want to be part of the club then you go. we need/want players who love the badge and stay.
btw - i also voted for freese
maybe santi enjoys life here. maybe he thinks playing in MLS is a better path to europe or the national team, depending on his ambition. but i'm with mgarbowski, if he wants to leave, then leave. i'm off the same mindset as pep, if you don't want to be part of the club then you go. we need/want players who love the badge and stay.
btw - i also voted for freese
You guys are harsh. Maxi:
1. As our best DP ever won us a championship
2. Watched a bunch of his key teammates leave and the club start to rebuild
3. After 14 years of playing all over the world thought he wanted to go back home
4. Went home and realized it wasn't what he wanted and more importantly it was reported that his young kids missed NY and their friends.
5. Came back on a non-DP contract
6. Suffered a major injury that would have triggered retirement for most players
7. Fought back from injury to become our best player last season at 37, made our mess of an offense functional and played almost every game for the rest of the season.
I don't think Maxi belongs anywhere near the list of players that wanted to leave and Freese is amazing but he has 1 excellent season in the history of the club.
ZYanksRule
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Completely agree with all of this. The DP/U-22 signings aren't good enough while the rest of the roster, pound for pound, is as good as anyone else's. The difference between NYCFC and the top echelon teams of MLS is the DP and U-22 signings.
ZYanksRule
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But if a team is offering him a major salary increase, it's harder to say no.
Correct they cannot make him go, but there's a lot of variation possible even if we know he's willing to go. It ranges from (a) the club tries desperately to convince him to stay but he forces the sale to (z) the club says "we didn't want to tell you this yet but we were planning to move on from you anyway so go now, save face, and we both get paid." Plus all the space between.
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