The 2025 MLS season is finally over, but another season has quickly arrived to follow it. No, I am not referring to an abbreviated spring-only MLS season; that is not happening until 2027. What I am referring to is the season that starts every year right around this time: wrapping season. Presents are getting wrapped, financial years are wrapping up, and Spotify once again is dominating social media feeds, as everyone is sharing their Spotify-curated 2025 Wrapped list of the songs they played the most this year.

I do not use Spotify (don’t tell Robin Jansson, but I’m not a fan of the Swedish product), so I do not have a list of my own to share, but I know that my 2025 was dominated by songs that my son and daughter wanted to hear over and over in the car, and so I am sure that my list would have appearances at or near the top from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (my son loves “Dani California”) and Rosé and Bruno Mars (my daughter loves the fun and upbeat “APT.”).

Orlando City players probably would not be quite as interested in hearing songs that mention California, after they had to trek to Los Angeles for two games in 11 days in August (sandwiched around additional road trips to Nashville and Miami, because why not really drive the players into the ground?), a disastrous series of games from which the team never really recovered. The trips to Los Angeles were avoidable, as the Lions did not take care of business during their Leagues Cup group stage games and thus had a low seed in the knockout rounds, but all of that travel and the disappointment of being the only team that made the final four of Leagues Cup to not earn a place in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup definitely played a major role in the Lions’ late-season collapse during MLS play.

Collapse they did, but despite the disappointment, the 2025 season was not a failure, something that The Mane Land’s David Rohe wrote about in this week’s TML Membership Newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking right here (or, you can copy that link and send it to someone who might be looking for a last-second gift to give this holiday season).

We will roll out the top 10 moments of the 2025 season here on our site in the coming weeks (nota bene: those top 10 moments are across Orlando City, OCB, and the Orlando Pride), but for now, let’s bring the ghosts of Christmas past and present together to wrap up Orlando City’s 2025 MLS season, comparing this season to the previous 10 seasons during the club’s MLS era (points, goals scored, goals allowed, goal differential, and attendance are all on a per-game basis, and all data comes from Opta’s tracking on fbref.com):

• *Orlando City played in the Citrus Bowl in 2015, a stadium with significantly higher capacity than Inter&Co Stadium.

While it may have been frustrating that the team’s performance fell off late in the season, 2025 was still the third-best regular season in the club’s MLS era, and a slight improvement in points per game as compared to 2024 (1.53). The 2024 team made a deeper run in the playoffs, which made 2025 feel worse, but the Eastern Conference was better in 2025 than 2024, and Orlando City’s 1.53 points per game in 2024 would not have even qualified for the playoffs during the 2025 season.

The 2025 offense was also the best in club history, scoring nearly two goals per game during MLS play and finishing with the sixth-most goals in the league. Ojeda set the club’s single-season goal contribution record with 31, adding 15 assists to go along with his 16 goals to finish as one of only five players to reach 15 in both categories. During Ojeda’s debut season with Orlando City he started fewer than half of the games, and it seemed like perhaps he was going to be another in a long line of underperforming Designated Player acquisitions, but two years later he rewarded the team’s faith in him by setting the club record for single-season goal contributions. I am not saying it was exclusively because my son switched from wearing a Facundo Torres jersey to games to wearing an Ojeda jersey to games, but I am not not saying that either.

Ojeda was not the only offensive powerhouse this season, as Marco Pašalić’s debut season in purple was one of the best in the club’s history. The Croatian took the list of Orlando City players who had scored at least 12 goals in an MLS season from six to seven (yes, that was intentionally written that way), and his five primary assists gave him 17 direct goal contributions, which puts him into an eight-way tie (an octo-tie?) for the fourth most in a single season.

And speaking of octopi, kind of, while we did not know it at the time, we were all witnesses to the final season in purple for El Pulpo, Pedro Gallese. The 2025 campaign was not Gallese’s best season with the Lions, but he was still more than solid between the sticks, and as one of only three players to ever appear more than 200 times for the Lions, he is a club legend and definitely in contention to be on the club’s Mount Lionmore (this should be a thing, right?).

As it usually does, time has (mostly) healed my irritation and frustration with how the season ended, and as I look back now, I think more about the positive than negative, because my mind is already shifting to 2026 and how the team can build on 2025 to return the upper echelon of the league. For the most part, the team was competitive, and the Lions were among the league’s best for the first two-thirds of the season. Most of this article was about the MLS season, but they also made the final four in the Leagues Cup, and had they not been hosed by the referees in Miami, they could have advanced to the final with a chance to add a Leagues Cup to the trophy case.

The season did not end up how the team or the fans wanted, but it was still a positive year and probably the fourth-best season in the club’s MLS era behind 2022 (U.S. Open Cup champions), 2023 (second place in the Supporters’ Shield standings), and 2024 (Eastern Conference playoff finalist). The USL era, when the team had the best regular-season record in 2011, 2012, and 2014 and won the playoffs in 2011 and 2013, is not to be forgotten, but the MLS era is a different level of competition, and in recent years Orlando City has been among the best.

Among the best is great, but the goal is to match the 2024 Orlando Pride team and bring home a championship. That will not happen in 2025, but several moves that are reportedly being finalized this week show that the front office is not satisfied with the status quo. Here’s to hoping that the club unwraps some exciting new acquisitions in the next few weeks as we say goodbye to 2025 and move on to the 2026 Orlando City season.

And that’s a wrap.

Vamos Orlando!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It may not be snowing, but the cooler weather has been helping me get in the festive spirit. While things remain a bit busy as the holiday season wears on, I’ve thankfully been able to enjoy some moments of peace here and there and finally accomplished my reading goal for the year. But enough about me, let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Trades Dagur Dan Thorhallsson

Dagur Dan Thorhallsson was traded to CF Montreal on Wednesday, with Orlando City receiving a hefty sum of $500,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange. Orlando will retain a sell-on percentage and could also receive an additional $125,000 in GAM if performance metrics are met. Thorhallsson has played the past three seasons in Orlando and has been a Swiss Army knife of sorts for the Lions, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in 2024. This amount of GAM is nothing to sneeze at and should give Orlando some flexibility when it comes to constructing its roster for next season. Orlando fans might see Thorhallsson in action again as soon as March 14 when the Lions host Montreal, although it will be weird not seeing him in purple.

Keeping Up With Orlando City Transfer News

According to Tom Bogert of The Athletic ($), the Lions are reportedly finalizing a deal for Brazilian winger Tiago to join from Bahia for a $4 million transfer fee. The 20-year-old has done well when on the field for Bahia in Brazil’s top flight and had a hat trick in the Copa do Nordeste final. Hopefully he can make an impact as an MLS U22 Initiative winger in Orlando.

Another interesting bit of news is that Orlando is reportedly close to transferring center back Rodrigo Schlegel to Atlas in Liga MX for a fee around $600,000, which is higher than what the Lions paid to sign him. The times definitely seem to be changing in the City Beautiful. Bogert also noted that Orlando’s $3.5 million deal for 18-year-old midfielder Luis Otavio is still on, and that the club is interested in moving on from Designated Player Luis Muriel.

MLS Players Stand Out With USMNT

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman is one of many MLS players who have made a strong case for being included on the United States Men’s National Team’s roster for next year’s World Cup. The 21-year-old was named MLS Young Player of the Year and is competing for a starting spot with the USMNT. Max Arfsten, Diego Luna, and Cristian Roldan are all in contention as well, and it’s been nice to see Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino give MLS players chances to shine.

NWSL Transfer News Roundup

Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher agreed to a new contract with the Chicago Stars, signing a one-year contract. The 37-year-old has been with Chicago for the past 10 years and she is one of three active players who have been in the league since its inaugural season in 2013.

The North Carolina Courage signed Nigerian forward Chioma Okafor to a three-year contract through 2028 with an option for 2029. She helped Nigeria win the 2024 Women’s African Cup of Nations and just finished her collegiate career with the University of Connecticut, where she scored 30 goals over 57 appearances. Speaking of collegiate players joining the league, NJ/NY Gotham FC signed forward Talia Sommer, who recorded 28 goals and 24 assists over the past four years with Butler.

Free Kicks

• Thorhallsson isn’t the only player CF Montreal has been wheeling and dealing for. The club sent $1.2 million in GAM to Real Salt Lake for defender Brayan Vera, with another $350,000 in GAM heading RSL’s way if performance metrics are met.
• Houston Dash defender Katie Lind announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included 193 appearances across all competitions.
• The United Super League is reportedly proposing a $55,000 minimum salary that would increase in future years as part of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the league and the USL Players Association.
• If you’re intending to visit a World Cup host city next summer, make sure to plan accordingly for obscene price gouging.

• Arsenal remained perfect in its UEFA Champions League campaign after beating Club Brugge 3-0. Elsewhere, Manchester City won 2-1 against Real Madrid, Napoli fell 2-0 to Benfica, and Newcastle United battled to a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
• Tatjana Haenni, who was the NWSL’s chief sporting director from 2023 until May of this year, will oversee Leipzig’s men’s and women’s teams as the club’s new chief executive.
• Former Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini was announced as the new head coach and general manager of the Halifax Wanderers.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

The Lions continue to maneuver toward the 2026 season, trading Icelandic international midfielder/defender Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to CF Montreal in exchange for $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), with up to an additional $125,000 in GAM possible based on the player reaching performance metrics stipulated in the deal. Specific details other than those were not released by the club.

“Dagur has been an incredible professional for us over the past three seasons,” Orlando City SC General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “His dedication to the team, ability to embrace our culture, and knack for bringing every group together made him a joy to have in our locker room. We’re grateful for everything he’s given to the club and wish him nothing but the best in this next chapter of his career.”

Orlando City signed Thorhallsson on Jan. 31, 2023 to a two-year deal with two additional option years for 2025 and 2026, but on July 18, 2024, the club announced that it had re-signed him to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027. The versatile Icelandic international began is OCSC career as a backup midfielder, became the team’s starting right back in 2024, and then filled in at multiple spots in 2025 after Alex Freeman seized the starting fullback position on the right side.

The 25-year-old native of Hafnarfjörður, Iceland was a critical role player for the Lions this season, appearing in 31 of the club’s 34 regular-season matches, starting 11 and playing 1,104 minutes. He scored an OCSC career-high three goals without an assist on eight shots (three on target) while passing at an 88% success rate with 10 key passes. On the defensive side, he recorded 20 tackles, 10 clearances, seven interceptions, and seven blocked shots. He committed 10 fouls, suffered 16 fouls, and received three yellow cards.

Thorhallsson departs having scored eight goals and adding nine assists across all competitions in 116 appearances (70 starts) across his three seasons with the Lions.

What It Means for Orlando City

The $500,000 (at minimum) in GAM is a lot for a role-playing depth player and will help add flexibility in roster building as Orlando City prepares for the 2026 season. Obviously, at the same time, that means the Lions lose a critical depth player at multiple positions — primarily fullback, defensive midfield, and wing. It is the highest total of initial GAM (i.e. received up front) in Orlando City history, surpassing the $450,000 received for Kevin Molino and Patrick McLain. Justin Meram brought more total GAM in return with $750,000, but only $300,000 of that was up front.

So, the logical conclusion is that someone’s cap hit needs to be bought down — possibly the new goalkeeper coming in to replace Pedro Gallese and/or a new contract for Freeman — as GAM is used to manage the salary cap through buying down players’ budget charges against the cap.

It also means that someone else must fill in at the various spots where Thorhallsson filled in previously. The Lions have been linked with Luis Otavio, with some reports saying that deal is in the process of being finalized. Otavio would join a central midfield that includes Eduard Atuesta, Wilder Cartagena, Colin Guske, and (when he returns from injury) Joran Gerbet. Kyle Smith could re-sign and back up Freeman at right fullback. Orlando has other wing players available, including Nico Rodriguez, who will need to get more minutes, to back up in the attacking midfield.