TORONTO — Toronto FC has sold Thiago Andrade, completing a paper trek that has seen the Brazilian winger traded from New York City FC to San Diego FC, TFC and now Japan's Cerezo Osaka in less than five weeks.
The 24-year-old Andrade never made it to Toronto, which acquired him in a Dec. 11 draft-day deal.
TFC sent San Diego FC its first-round draft pick (ninth overall) in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and up to US$250,000 in conditional general allocation money if certain performance-based metrics were met. San Diego picked up the Brazilian from New York City FC with the fourth pick in the 2025 MLS expansion draft.
San Diego will get a percentage of Andrade's transfer fee as part of the deal.
Toronto saw the Brazilian as a good investment given his salary — he earned US$219,600 last season, according to the MLS Players Association — and the modest cost of acquiring him.
Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said the ninth overall draft pick "wasn't something that was incredibly relevant for us with our understanding of the player pool this year" — and the fact that other teams had shown an interest in having him via the loans, made him "a little bit of a low-risk manoeuvre that we think could be a boost."
Andrade joined NYCFC in April 2021 from Brazil's EC Bahia on a contract through 2024 with an option for the 2025 season.
He turned heads early on, scoring in his first two appearances for NYCFC including a stoppage-time showstopper June 27 against D.C. United. Taking a throw from goalkeeper Sean Johnson — now Toronto's 'keeper — Andrade ran the length of the field with just five touches, outmanoeuvring several defenders before knocking the ball home for the game-winner.
He scored 12 goals and added six assists in 71 appearances across all competitions with New York. Andrade was loaned out the last two seasons, spending 2023 with Brazil's Athletico Paranaense and 2024 with Shenzhen Peng City FC of the Chinese Super League.
Andrade began his career in Brazil in the Fluminense academy before spending six months in Portugal with Portimonense Sporting Clube in Portugal's second tier. Returning to Brazil, he joined EC Bahia and made his debut in January 2021 — the first of 20 appearances across all competitions, with three goals and two assists.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
