Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell introduces the new forward, Brandon Vazquez, during a press conference at Q2 Stadium Tuesday Jan. 7, 2025.
Rodolfo Borrell came prepared Wednesday.
At one point during the Austin FC sporting director’s news conference to discuss the club’s summer transfer window moves — or in the Verde & Black’s case, lack thereof — Borrell read off the amount of general allocation money, which is basically salary cap room, some other MLS teams had entering the period.
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Most of the amounts hovered in the several hundred thousands, while a few were in the millions.
Austin FC’s number? Just $40,000.
Casual observers of Austin FC, may not even have realized there was a summer transfer window; the time in the calendar when MLS teams can add players from other clubs. The Verde & Black’s lineup has featured the same 21 players since the season started in February. The only new addition, reserve center back Mateja Djordjevic, has yet to appear in a game.
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The most interesting aspect of Austin FC’s summer came from a player who never stepped on the field.
Winger Nicky Beloko, who played for for Swiss club Luzern, joined the club July 1 after reaching an agreement with Austin FC in January. (International soccer players with expiring contracts in the summer can negotiate with other clubs the January beforehand and agree on a “pre-contract.”)
However, less than seven weeks later, and without making an appearance for Austin FC, the club announced Beloko would return to Switzerland to play for Lausanne-Sport on a free transfer. Borrell said this was due to a “family situation that arose” and that Austin FC will receive 15% of any future sale of Beloko.
So long, Mr. Beloko. We hardly knew you.
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In good news for Austin FC, the move opens up a roster spot for next year. But that doesn’t help the Verde & Black over the next two months as they try to qualify for the MLS playoffs and win the U.S. Open Cup.
Still, any major roster addition this summer was always unlikely.
As Borrell pointed out, the Verde & Black don’t have the general allocation money, which comes from selling players. And even with the injury to forward Brandon Vazquez creating up a roster spot for the rest of the season, the best Austin FC could do would be a short-term rental.
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A constant theme from Borrell during his tenure has been patience. He noted that again Wednesday from both a present and future standpoint. He said he’s pleased with the job new coach Nico Estévez has done. The club is in seventh place in the Western Conference and playing in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals later this month, even after the injury to Vazquez, the team’s highest-paid player.
“We’ve been coping well with that, which isn’t easy,” Borrell said.
Yet for Austin FC to move forward as a club, it will probably have to sell its young talent. Midfielders Owen Wolff and Dani Pereira are the two players that should draw interest from teams in Europe or South America this offseason. And that’s something that could make the upcoming winter transfer window far more interesting than the noneventful summer that just passed.
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“Selling has to be for the right value,” Borrell said. “We’ll see what comes at the end of the season.”
