Seeing your favourite players leave for fresh, exciting challenges abroad is part and parcel of supporting any Major League Soccer club.
Fans have come to both expect and accept it when players either jump at the chance to prove themselves in the big leagues of Europe, or chase astronomical wages in Saudi Arabia or Qatar to provide for their families.
That being said, no Orlando City fan would've expected Ramiro Enrique to depart Central Florida just a few weeks ago. Now that the striker's move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Kholood has finally been confirmed, it's hard to see how this decision benefits the club's chances of silverware in any tangible way.
Alarmingly light on options in attack
Let's get it straight, Enrique's departure leaves Orlando very light indeed at striker.
Luis Muriel, whose form hasn't exactly set the world alight for much of the season, has served as head coach Óscar Pareja's first choice in the position in 2025.
His six goals in August, however impressive, were his first since mid-May, and his form has since dried up almost as quickly as it reappeared.
At 34-years-old, Muriel isn't getting any younger, and it shows. He often looks lethargic performing in the Central Floridian humidity, exhausting his energy supplies early in games and seeing his performances only wane from there.
The Colombian just isn't good or consistent enough anymore to be an effective first choice. But, with Enrique's shock departure, Muriel's deputy is now Duncan McGuire, and that's even more a worry.
As lethal as the Nebraska native's debut season in purple was, McGuire is no longer the same player he was in 2023. Two successive shoulder injuries, strangely one on each limb, have meant that he hasn't played consistent minutes in an entire year. Given that he had lost much of his game time to Muriel beforehand, he hasn't been a regular starter in almost two.
As a result, McGuire will almost certainly need time to build up his fitness and any sort of reliable goalscoring form. More alarmingly, though, being thrust back into the fray prematurely as will be required will only amplify the risk of further injury, whether that be on either shoulder or elsewhere.
Orlando fans will hope that this newfound, self-inflicted lack of depth means that 18-year-old Justin Ellis will finally be awarded a first-team contract. But let's face it, Pareja isn't exactly known for trusting youth. Even Alex Freeman, who has exploded onto the scene in 2025, has been made to wait years for a proper opportunity.
Only compounds recent misery
There's no way to sugarcoat it, August was a devastating month for Orlando.
Defeat to Nashville in league play essentially ended any hopes of winning a maiden Supporters' Shield this campaign. Even worse, successive Leagues Cup defeats to Inter Miami and then Los Angeles Galaxy not only denied them the second MLS-era title they so dearly wanted, but saw them carelessly throw away qualification for next year's edition of CONCACAF Champions Cup.
With Enrique's departure, September hasn't exactly started in the most positive of ways, either. The only way this current campaign can possibly end in success is for Orlando to win MLS Cup, otherwise 2025 will just go down as yet another missed opportunity in the Pareja era.
Without Enrique, that looks all the more unlikely.
One big roll of the dice
As I was keen to stress early on in this piece, player departures are inevitable in football.
But the Argentine seemed happy in Orlando, whether he was Pareja's first-choice striker or having to fight for his place in the team.
I was lucky enough to interview Enrique back in June following his two-goal haul away at St. Louis CITY, and it was clear that his positive mentality was integral to his impressive goals-per-ninety minutes ratio.
"As a football player you always want to play, you always want to start and have the most impact for the team you possibly can. But the way I am, whether I start the game or whether I am asked to enter the game from the bench, I am always going to give one hundred percent," he said.
If Enrique was, however unlikely, demanding a move away, then the only thing Orlando could've done was to let him leave for the good of the team. But why let it happen so late?
With the transfer window now closed in North America, there is no chance of securing a replacement. Even though Orlando have received the third-highest transfer incoming in club history, they can't use it.
If just one of Muriel or McGuire get themselves injured or are incapable of getting up to speed immediately, that's probably game over for Orlando this season.
Enrique was the most proven of the three in high-pressure situations, being the only one to net for Orlando in the end-of-season play-offs. Remarkably, he has been allowed to depart in what is the most crucial stage of the season.
Only time will tell if this move pays off. But one thing is for sure, it feels a massive and unnecessary risk.