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TORONTO, Canada—Mark Delgado is heading back to his home state.
Toronto FC has traded the 26-year-old midfielder to the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for up to $500,000 in General Allocation Money, per sources.
This is what I was hinting at on @WakingtheRed Weekly today and can confirm that this report is true. Mark Delgado will be joining Greg Vanney in Los Angeles https://t.co/khdIQowmkQ
— Michael Singh (@MichaelSingh94) January 19, 2022
Delgado departs the club having made 225 appearances for the reds in all competitions, good enough for fourth all-time.
While, like the rest of the team, Delgado struggled last season for Toronto, the California native flourished in the past under former TFC coach Greg Vanney, who he will reunite with in Los Angeles. Vanney dubbed Delgado as one of the best midfielders in Major League Soccer as recently as the 2020 season and it’s expected Delgado will play a big role with the Galaxy.
Delgado, who signed a long-term contract extension in June of 2020, made over $500,000 in guaranteed compensation last season according to the MLSPA.
Delgado has been part of two Canadian Championship winning teams (2016, 2018) and three Eastern Conference Championships (2016, 2017, 2019). He was originally acquired by Toronto FC on November 19, 2014 in the 2014 MLS Dispersal Draft following the contraction of Chivas USA.
The versatile central midfielder has earned six caps for the United States Men’s National Team during his career. His most recent cap came in a 1-0 friendly loss to Italy on November 20, 2018.
Delgado is the second central midfielder to depart Toronto in as many days. On Tuesday, free agent Liam Fraser signed with Belgian second-division club KMSK Deinze.
Jonathan Osorio, Michael Bradley, Noble Okello, and Ralph Priso are the only natural centre midfielders still under contract with TFC.
TFC is also expected to announce the re-signing of striker Ayo Akinola in the coming days, as well as a swap deal involving Yeferson Soteldo and Liga MX centre-back Carlos Salcedo before the start of the season.
The club’s roster currently stands at 20 out of a possible 30 players (21 if you include Lorenzo Insigne, who will arrive this summer), so expect a lot more movement in the coming days/weeks.