Morning folks,

Hope your week is going well. Here’s what we’ve got kicking around today…

• 📰 MLS Updates

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 🚀 MLS Club Valuations Skyrocket

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

MLS Updates

T-minus 10 days until MLS is back. This newsletter’s about to get a lot juicier each week.

Minnesota United officially signs James Rodriguez. It’s a short-term deal through June with a club option to extend to November. It’ll be his 7th club in the last 6 years. James was introduced to Minnesota sports fans while sitting courtside at the Timberwolves game.

Nashville SC finalized a club record sale of Jonny Perez to Chivas. It will be north of $3M. The 23-year-old winger wants the move and gets it. It’s double the amount Nashville paid to acquire him from the Galaxy back in August. That’s good business for Nashville.

LAFC has signed Canadian international midfielder Stephen Eustaquio from FC Porto (his highlights here). The 29-year-old will join on loan through June with a purchase option for €7M. LAFC acquired his MLS discovery rights from the San Jose Earthquakes for $50k. He’s made 156 appearances for Porto, but playing time has been hard to come by recently, with only 3 league appearances for 31 total minutes since September. The move will get him valuable playing time before the World Cup. He’s expected to be a part of Jesse Marsch’s team this summer.

Orlando City SC has added its third young Brazilian player this offseason. They acquired center back Iago Teodoro from Flamengo (his highlights here). The 20-year-old will occupy a U22 Initiative spot alongside his fellow new countrymen, midfielder Luis Otavio and winger Tiago. Combined, Orlando spent $8.2M plus add-ons to acquire the trio.

San Diego FC advanced in the opening round of the Concacaf Champions Cup with a 4-2 aggregate win over Pumas. In the first leg, they scored 4 unanswered goals in the last 25 minutes of play.

Preseason action is underway, so we’ve got a couple of goals you have to see:

Denis Bouanga flicked the ball up to himself and hammered home a volley, because why not?

Then there’s Messi. He assisted German Berterame and then scored this gorgeous solo goal.

Inter Miami face LAFC next Saturday at the Coliseum. I can’t freaking wait to watch that.

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