Lion Links: 12/13/23

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope all is well with you down in Florida. Under Armour has been keeping me busy as we get close to Christmas. However, I’ve gotten to watch the first episode of The Billon Dollar Goal documentary on Paramount+. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Mauricio Pereyra Returns to Nacional

After reaching a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with Orlando City last week, former Lions captain Mauricio Pereyra has found his next opportunity as he is returning home to play for Nacional in Uruguay.

Pereyra signed with Nacional on a free transfer. He had previously played with Nacional from 2009 to 2011. From there, Pereyra moved on to play for Lanus, FC Krasnodar, and Orlando City before returning to Uruguay for his second stint with Nacional. We wish him the best of luck upon his return home.

Orlando Pride Trade Goalkeeper Carly Nelson to Utah Royals

The Orlando Pride announced another trade with the Utah Royals on Tuesday, sending goalkeeper Carly Nelson and $65,000 in Allocation Money to the expansion side in exchange for a 2024 international roster spot. This is the second time this off-season the two clubs have made a trade after the Pride sent midfielder Mikayla Cluff to the Royals last month in exchange for expansion draft protection. Nelson is from Lindon, UT, and played college soccer at the University of Utah. She made four appearances for the Pride, with three of those coming in league play and one in the Challenge Cup during her lone season with the club. This move provides some space at the goalkeeper position to make room with the Pride adding Finnish goalkeeper Sofia Manner to the squad earlier this month.

Latest MLS roster Off-Season Moves

There has been a lot of roster movement through just four days of the MLS off-season. Let’s start with the league champions, as the Columbus Crew re-signed defender Steven Moreira through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026. The Crew also re-signed defender Rudy Camacho through the 2025 season. We also had some trades, with the most notable moves being the Chicago Fire acquiring left back Andrew Gutman from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for left back Miguel Navarro and $450,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). Tuesday also saw a pair of right backs moved as CF Montreal acquired former Orlando City defender Raun and $500,000 in GAM from D.C. United in exchange for defender Aaron Herrera. Finally, St. Louis City officially acquired defensive midfielder Chris Durkin from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Jared Stroud, defender Lucas Bartlett, and $300,000 in GAM.

Charlotte FC Hires Dean Smith as its Next Head Coach

Charlotte FC has officially named Dean Smith as its new head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract with the club. Smith was previously the manager at English sides Leicester City, Norwich City, and Aston Villa. Smith’s biggest accomplishment was leading Aston Villa to promotion to the Premier League in 2019 after taking over the club that was in 15th place in the Championship. Charlotte FC just completed its second season in Major League Soccer, finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and losing to the New York Red Bulls in the wildcard round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Smith will now be Charlotte FC’s third different manager to lead the club as it prepares for the 2024 season.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The UEFA Champions League group stage nears its conclusion as we close out Matchday 6 in Europe. Manchester United lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich, failing to qualify for the knockout stage and finishing in last place in Group A. Also in that group, Copenhagen edged out Galatasaray 1-0 to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2011. PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal finished in a 1-1 draw, which was enough for both clubs to advance to the knockout stage. Real Madrid, Napoli, Real Sociedad, and Inter Milan will also be moving on to the Round of 16. Today’s notable matches will see Dortmund facing off with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan goes on the road against Newcastle United, and FC Porto takes on Shaktar Donetsk.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando City head coach Jason Kreis is returning to Real Salt Lake as its director of operations and special projects.
• Los Angeles FC center back Giorgio Chiellini announced his retirement from professional soccer.
• Concacaf has confirmed the eight clubs that will be seeded for the 2024 Champions Cup and pots will be based on the Concacaf Club Rankings. The draw for the competition will be tonight at 7 p.m.
• USL League One has unveiled its new in-season cup competition to begin next year.

• JAX USL announced its club name and colors for both its men’s USL Championship and women’s USL Super League teams and will be known as Sporting Club Jacksonville.

• Jacksonville Armada FC owner Robert Palmer announced that the MLS NEXT Pro side is exploring bringing an NWSL expansion club to northeast Florida.

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