Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit anxious about the upcoming season. I think it’s because we don’t know much of what is going on. We’re only a few weeks away from the first match for goodness sake. Hopefully, we’ll see some more signings for both clubs, but until then let’s get to the links.

Orlando City’s New Kit

Orlando City dropped the new Sunken Treasure secondary kit yesterday, and it is a stunner. This is the first time the club has used gold as the primary color on a jersey. It looks great with the purple shorts, and the purple stripes. There are some great details like the coin on the collar and sublimated lion head on the chest. This is truly one of the better kits that Orlando City has introduced. The club produced a great reveal video. Check it out.

Orlando Preseasons

There’s not a ton of information to convey regarding Orlando City’s and the Orlando Pride’s preseasons. That seems to be purposeful on the part of the club, but a little news did slip out via social media. New center back Iago is fully participating in practice.

We also learned that goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau is back in training after missing last week. Of course, the Pride got in the action as well with various players trying to run drills. I’ll let you judge how well they did.

MLS Club Valuations

MLS clubs are increasing in value, including Orlando City. Sportico released the list of all MLS club valuations (paywall). Unsurprisingly, the top five were all big market teams with Inter Miami leading the way. When the Wilf family purchased Orlando City, they paid between $400 and $450 million. Now it is estimated to be worth approximately $565 million. That’s pretty good growth.

Chris Mueller’s Lost Year

We missed this last November, but former Orlando City attacker Chris Mueller had a tough time of things in 2025. The player was diagnosed with pericarditis. It meant that he couldn’t sleep laying down, let alone play or practice. He is now on the other side of it and has a new contract. It was a year of lessons for Mueller, and in typical fashion he has bounced back stronger.

Free Kicks

• The Lions weren’t the only team to announce new jerseys. There were 16 other clubs that did the same, though none are as nice as Orlando City’s new kit.
• The USMNT U-17 squad has secured a spot in the U-17 World Cup. The berth came after a 1-1 draw against the Dominican Republic.

• Former England, Chelsea, and Juventus forward Eni Aluko has reignited her debate over female pundits in soccer.
• Defender Noahkai Banks will not be switching from the USMNT to Germany despite contact from the German federation.

That will do it for today, me hearties. I hope you have a wonderful day. Vamos Orlando!

Good morning, everyone. It’s hard to believe that we’re under two weeks away from the start of the Major League Soccer season, but time shows absolutely no sign of slowing down anytime soon. We’ve got a whole lot of things to discuss this morning, so let’s get right into the links.

Getting to Know Harvey Sarajian

Harvey Sarajian was born in Naples, and the first professional soccer game that he ever went to was when Orlando City took on the Chicago Fire all the way back in 2015. After becoming Orlando’s first pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft, he’s now earned a contract with the team he watched 11 years ago, and he did so just four days after starting to train with the Lions. He spent a lot of time as a left winger in college, and spoke about his desire to beat defenders out wide and either get service into the box or cut onto his right foot and try to score. He also highlighted Duncan McGuire and Tyrese Spicer as two individuals who have helped him as he settles into his new surroundings.

Monitoring Former Lions Abroad

It’s been a busy few days for some of Orlando City’s former players who have taken their talents overseas. Cyle Larin got his debut for Southampton started with a bang on Saturday, as he entered the game as a substitute in the 67th minute and promptly scored the game’s only goal just three minutes later to lift the team to victory over Watford. The more recently departed Alex Freeman made his debut for Villareal on Monday, when he entered the game in the 73rd minute of a 4-1 win over Espanyol in La Liga action. Finally, Benji Michel has seemingly concluded his time with Finnish side HJK Helsinki, as he posted a farewell to the club on his Instagram page.

Americans in Midweek Action

As is usually the case, there are a number of American players taking part in games during the working week. Things will get started today when Brenden Aaronson and Leeds face Chelsea in the Premier League. Action in England rolls on Wednesday when Antonee Robinson and Fulham face Manchester United, while Chris Richards and Crystal Palace take on Burnley. The Wednesday action concludes when Alejandro Zendejas and Club America attempt to maintain their 2-1 first leg advantage over CD Olimpia, and advance to the next round of the Concacaf Champions Cup. Things then finish up on Friday when Folarin Balogun and Monaco host Nantes in Ligue 1 action.

MLS Transfer Roundup

Monday brought a fresh wave of movement in the transfer market for Major League Soccer, so let’s catch up on what happened. CF Montreal has signed forward Noah Streit from FC Basel on a deal that runs through the 2028-2029 season, with an option for 2029-2030. Moving to the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake signed defender Juan Jose Arias on loan from Atletico Nacional as an MLS U22 Initiative signing. The center back’s loan runs until July 13 and contains a purchase option. San Diego FC has signed free agent midfielder Bryce Duke on a contract that runs through June of 2027 and contains options for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 seasons. Finally, Nashville SC has signed center back Jeisson Palacios to a contract extension through the 2027-2028 season, with an option for the 2028-2029 campaign.

Free Kicks

• Take a look at the Orlando Pride’s continuing preseason preparations.

• We got another teaser from OCSC ahead of today’s jersey release.

• The Young Lions have been getting in some preseason preparations of their own.

• Orlando City youth player Lennox Alvarado got a callup to the U-16 National Team training camp.

• Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly ended his boycott of Al Nassr matches.
• Jack Grealish has confirmed that he has undergone a foot surgery that will end his season.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Vamos Orlando!

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you in Florida. I’ve been busy at work and will be covering some high school playoff basketball action later this week. We are less than two weeks away from Orlando City’s home opener against Red Bull New York. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw Nashville SC In Preseason Scrimmage

Orlando City picked up a 2-2 draw against Nashville SC in a preseason match at West Palm Beach, FL. The match was a closed-door scrimmage, and it was scoreless through halftime. In the second half, Hany Mukhtar scored the opening goal for Nashville. Martin Ojeda equalized for the Lions before Nashville added another goal to take the lead. After 90 minutes, the two sides played an extra 30 minutes, and Yutaro Tsukada set up Tiago, who buried the equalizer for the Lions. The next scheduled preseason match for Orlando will be another closed-door scrimmage Wednesday on the road against FC Cincinnati.

Orlando City Announces Iago Signing

On Saturday, Orlando City announced the signing of Brazilian defender Iago from CR Flamengo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but online reports have stated the club will only receive 50% of a sell-on from the transfer move. Iago is signed through the 2028-2029 season on an MLS U22 Initiative contract. The 20-year-old Brazilian youth international came up through Flamengo’s academy and joined the U-20 side in 2022. He made his first-team debut in January 2024, has combined for 68 appearances, scored 14 goals, and logged more than 5,000 minutes across Flamengo’s senior and U-20 teams across all competitions. Iago also has 13 caps with Brazil’s U-20 team, scoring three goals, and captained the side during the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year. Iago is young and athletic and will likely be on the back line at the start of the season, with Robin Jansson sidelined with a foot injury.

Orlando City Announces 2026 Theme Nights Schedule

Orlando City announced its promotional theme night schedule for the 2026 season. There will be 11 featured theme nights this season, including returning traditions, community‑focused recognitions, culturally significant nights, and more. The club introduces two distinct categories for its theme nights in 2026, Jewel Nights and Celebration Nights. Some notable theme nights include a Kids’ Night on April 18, which coincides with the club mascot Kingston’s birthday. May 15 will be Lions Go Global Night, when Orlando City will recognize its players departing for international duty for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Noche Latina Night returns Oct. 10, Pride in Our City Night is Oct. 17, Military Appreciation Night is Oct. 24, and the final theme night event is Fan Appreciation Night on Nov. 7.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

Minnesota United officially announced the signing of Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez on Friday. The 34-year-old joins Minnesota on a short-term deal through June 2026, with a club option to extend through the end of the year. LAFC has acquired midfielder Stephen Eustaquio on loan from FC Porto. The 29-year-old Canadian international will be at the club through June 2026, and his contract includes a purchase option. LAFC sent the San Jose Earthquakes $50,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money for Eustaquio’s discovery rights. CF Montreal has signed goalkeeper Samsy Keita to a Homegrown contract through the 2028-2029 season with option years through 2030-2031. Lastly, Chivas is reportedly finalizing a deal to sign Jonny Perez from Nashville SC.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City posted on social media a photo of the club’s three Brazilian MLS U22 Initiative signings, Iago, Luis Otavio, and Tiago.

• The Orlando Pride are locked in and focused during preseason training camp at IMG Academy.

• Former Lions midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski has signed a contract to join USL Championship side FC Tulsa for the upcoming 2026 season.
• FC Barcelona announced over the weekend that the club has officially withdrawn from the European Super League project.
• Concacaf announced its competition calendar for the next four years, leading up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The Nations League will kick off this fall, while the Gold Cup will begin in June 2027. The first round of World Cup qualifying starts in September 2027.
• Alyssa Thompson scored her seventh goal across all competitions as Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Sunday.
• FC Supra du Quebec, which will make its debut in the Canadian Premier League in April, will field only players born or raised in the province.
• Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo announced over the weekend that he has joined the Chelsea Women’s ownership group.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.