MLS: Top 5 departures of the 2019 season
By Daniel Garza
The 2019 MLS season saw the league lose a few of its stars to other clubs around the world. Here are the top five departures of the 2019 season.
There were a few transfers during the Major League Soccer season that saw players leave the league altogether. Some of these transfers involved players leaving to go to bigger profile clubs while others left due to failed spells in MLS.
Just before the start of the season in March, there were a host of transfers including Tyler Adams to RB Leipzig and Miguel Almiron to Newcastle United. During the season, the transfers continued and there were multiple notable moves that would occur.
Here are the top five departures the league saw during the course of the 2019 season.
5. Carlos Gruezo to Augsburg
FC Dallas have established a strong reputation for sending their academy players overseas to large clubs. However, Carlos Gruezo was one of their first players at FC Dallas to use his time with the club to regain form and make a return to a top league.
The midfielder was a summer transfer to Augsburg where he started in the club’s two opening fixtures. Unfortunately, an ankle injury has left him out of the squad to date. Hopefully, he can make a return to the starting XI at some point this season in the Bundesliga.
4. Zakaria Diallo to Lens
A mainstay in the Montreal Impact’s starting XI, Zakaria Diallo left the Quebec club midseason during the summer and has found good form in France. Lens are performing well in Ligue 2 and Diallo could find himself in the top flight of Frech football next season if his team continues with their current run of form.
3. Andre Horta to Braga
This move was one that ended in disappointment for both Andre Horta and LAFC. The young Portuguese player entered with high expectations from the club but it did not go as planned. Horta struggles to make appearances at the start of the season and he eventually returned to Portugal to join Braga. He has got much more playing time at Braga and has featured multiple times in the Europea League. More recently, he scored against Wolves during the matchday five fixture.
2. Zack Steffen to Fortuna Düsseldorf
Entering the season, the Columbus Crew knew they were not going to have Zack Steffen for the entire year. He was scheduled to be moved to Fortuna Düsseldorfduring the summer window. As a result, the Crew lost their starting goalkeeper and their most promising talent. Steffen has lived up to the hype as he has been the unanimous starting keeper for the Bundesliga club. If he can continue to impress, Steffen may follow in the footsteps of legend Tim Howard.
1. Wayne Rooney to Derby County
Wayne Rooney wasn’t going to be in the MLS forever, but his time in the league came to a premature end as he decided to return to England to jumpstart his career as a manager. Rooney is going to be a player-manager which will not bring a close just yet to his playing days.
The league does lose a huge star who had a tremendous impact on DC United. His addition to the club in 2018 saw them resurge and took them to two appearances in the playoffs.