Facundo Torres Signs New Contract with Orlando City through 2026

Orlando City announced today that the club has signed Uruguayan forward Facundo Torres to a new three-year contract through 2026, with club options for 2027 and 2028. Torres remains a Designated Player, occupying a senior DP slot, along with Martin Ojeda. The deal was first reported Tuesday by Mike Gramajo of WESH News.

Originally signed to a three-year contract through 2025 on Jan. 24, 2022, Torres’ initial contract with Orlando City had a single club option year for 2026. Now, barring a transfer, Torres could be in purple through the 2028 season.

Torres is also changing his number to 10 from 17, as has been widely reported, which means fellow Uruguayan Nico Lodeiro won’t be wearing that number upon his arrival in Orlando.

“Facu has proven himself to be such an important part of our team these last couple of years,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s fulfilled our expectations that we set out for him at the start, showing great potential for even further growth. We’re really pleased to have him signed with us for even longer, as we strive for bigger objectives.”

Torres, 23, is coming off his second season with the Lions, in which he scored 14 goals and added four assists, playing 30 of Orlando City’s 34 regular-season matches in 2023. Of those 30 appearances, 28 were starts. He attempted 65 shots, putting 26 on target, recorded 47 key passes, and provided 32 successful crosses. Across all competitions, Torres has started 72 times and has made 79 total appearances, racking up 27 goals and 16 assists.

“First, I want to thank the club and the fans for the amazing support they provide and for always having confidence in me,” Torres said in the club’s press release. “I’m very happy to stay here in Orlando and continue this journey together. Vamos Orlando!”

Torres became a professional player in 2020 with Peñarol in Uruguay’s top flight, making the jump from that club’s academy. He scored for the senior side on his debut just five minutes after his 46th-minute introduction on Aug. 16, 2020 against Boston River. In 71 appearances across all competitions with Peñarol, Torres scored 16 goals and added 15 assists. He scored in the championship match to help Peñarol win the 2021 Liga Profesional de Primera División title. He has also competed with Peñarol in both Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

At the international level, Torres has appeared with Uruguay at the U-15, U-17, U-20, and senior national team levels. He debuted for the senior team in June of 2021 and made his senior international debut for Uruguay against Paraguay, coming off the bench in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. He was named to the roster for Uruguay’s most recent round of FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Argentina (Nov. 16) and Bolivia (Nov. 21).

Torres has 15 caps with Uruguay, five of which have come since he joined Orlando City. He has scored one goal for his country, netting his first in a friendly against Cuba on June 21, 2023. He notched his first assist in the 2021 Copa America. Torres was on Uruguay’s 2022 FIFA World Cup roster.

What It Means for Orlando City

It will be interesting to see what Torres is making when the next MLSPA salary release comes out. Torres made a base salary of $640,000 in 2023 and a total guaranteed compensation of $994,200. Transitioning from a Young Designated Player (YDP) to a senior DP, when combined with Orlando City having used up its MLS U22 Initiative slots, means the Lions can currently only sign a YDP with their third slot.

The deal extends Torres’ initial deal by one year, adds another club option year, and likely pays him more. It’s important for the club to keep him happy and this deal appears to accomplish that. While there have been several rumors about interest from European clubs, so far there haven’t been any offers significant enough for a Torres transfer. However, this is a young, talented player, who is just entering his prime years and is still very much on the radar of clubs all over the world. This new contract doesn’t change the fact that in any given window the Lions may receive an offer that they can’t refuse. So, it remains to be seen how many of the five possible years on this new deal Torres actually spends with Orlando City.

For now, it appears Torres is happy to continue wearing purple for the Lions, and if European clubs come calling, Muzzi will act in the best interests of the club on whether to sell the Uruguayan or keep him in the City Beautiful.