Nagbe joins Atlanta in record-breaking deal

US international Darlington Nagbe is heading from the Portland Timbers to Atlanta United in a deal worth up to a record $1.65 million (1.4 million euros).


The exact figure of the deal depends on contract incentives, but it could exceed the most allocation money ever exchanged between two Major League Soccer Clubs in a single trade — the $1.6 million involved in Orlando City’s move to acquire Dom Dwyer from Sporting Kansas City.

Nagbe, 27, has played all seven of his MLS seasons with Portland, winning the MLS Cup crown with the Timbers in 2015.

The Liberian-born midfielder, who moved to the United States when he was 11 and gained US citizenship in 2015, scored 27 goals for Portland, including three in the recently concluded season.

In 24 appearances for the United States he has scored one goal.

He joins an Atlanta team that already boasts a formidable array of attacking talent. Atlanta’s South American trio of Josef Martinez, Hector Villalba and Miguel Almiron combined for 41 goals in 2017, the club’s inaugural MLS season.

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