The sale of wunderkind Alex Freeman to Spain’s Villarreal CF, which went official on Thursday afternoon, stands to reap upwards of $7 million for Orlando City SC – and possibly quite a bit more, thanks to a sell-on clause that may pay handsomely in the future, considering the fast-rising US international’s dramatic upward trajectory over the past year.
The 21-year-old fullback’s remarkable story carries quite a bit more value than that for the Lions and their player pipeline, however.
“Freeman’s going to be the example of a successful case for us,” general manager and sporting director Ricardo Moreira told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday.
“That's what every MLS club wants to do. That's what every club in the world wants to do, right? Having a clear pathway for the community, for the kids, for the players in the community, and I think he’s just going to be the first one.”
Homegrown kid makes good
A Fort Lauderdale native who moved north to join Orlando's academy after missing the cut at his hometown club Inter Miami in his teens, Freeman helped the Lions’ U-17 side win an MLS NEXT championship in 2021, which he’s credited as a key milestone for his own self-belief, and paved the way for him to sign a homegrown contract the following year.
Yet he remained well under the national radar until last season, when he exploded into the mainstream as a game-breaking presence for both club and country, winning MLS Best XI, All-Star and Young Player of the Year honors while earning 13 caps for the US men’s national team despite only making his senior international debut in June.
Moreira jokes that he’s lost count of the number of right backs he’s been offered as transfer targets by clubs and agents over the past few days, before making clear that he considers it “impossible” to simply plug-and-play a replacement for Freeman on OCSC’s right corner.
“He's identified with the club. He loves the club. He's an academy product. He's a beast, physically, technically – one of, if not the best, right back in the league,” said the Lions’ chief soccer officer. “So how to replace that guy like that? You don't. So we either give a step back and develop someone, or we're going to have to change something in our system to be able to explore other areas of our game. But that's the challenge that we are in right now.”
Pathway to success
Villarreal’s price may end up looking like a bargain in the long run, though Moreira considers the deal a win-win, considering Freeman was entering the final year of his contract. He’s also keen to show other rising academy prospects like Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo and Jackson Platts there’s a pathway for them to follow.
“Everybody knows about [Freeman’s] contract. I think the outcome was, was really positive for Orlando City, and better than expected, I would say,” Moreira noted. “So in the position that we are, I would say myself, coaching staff, even ownership, we first celebrate the good deal that we got given the circumstances."
Now he has the World Cup and Champions League ahead of him. So for us at the club, it's a great story,” he added, noting that the rangy young wide man is another developmental “jackpot” for head coach Oscar Pareja, who’s nurtured a long list of future stars across his stints at Orlando, FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids.
“We want this pathway. We want to see more and more Alex Freemans, players that are contributing, that are coming to our pathway of development and fulfilling their dreams.”
Transfer market ambitions
It’s just one of several big transactions in a busy winter for the Lions. They’ve also made significant investments on young Brazilians Tiago and Luis Otávio via the U22 Initiative, two talents Orlando believe carry long-range value while also capable of contributing right away.
“We've been fortunate with the production that we had from the majority of the under-22s that we brought in the last couple years; Ramiro Enrique and César Araújo are the two that gave us the most on and off the field,” said Moreira. “Thinking about the culture of our team, the culture of our city, we believe that those young Brazilians can bring not only things on the field, but off the field as well. It's easy for them to adapt to the culture, to the city, to the weather – it’s very similar from Brazil in Orlando, Florida.
“So the idea was to reload the squad, to replace Ramiro and César with players with the same or better, on and off the ball.”
The Central Floridians also brought in a new starting goalkeeper in Max Crépeau and bid farewell to a raft of incumbents, most notably inconsistent Designated Player Luis Muriel.
Moreira says they aim to sign another U22 prospect soon, and plan to reel in another big fish to fill Muriel’s DP slot – “not necessarily a striker, but an attacking player,” he explained, with two potential avenues in terms of timing: In the current winter window, or perhaps in summer, when top stars may have North America on their minds following the rather significant tournament headed to these shores.
“Great player. Sometimes things don't work out the way both parties expect, but we wish him nothing but the best,” said Moreira of Muriel, who’s returned to Colombia to join his boyhood club Atletico Junior.
“We want new things from our third DP position, because we're super happy with the production, obviously, of Martín Ojeda and Marco Pašalić. We thought that we could do better with a different profile, with a different DP.
“It's a World Cup year, and the World Cup is at home, so maybe someone will be available after the World Cup. And we’ve got to be prepared for that as well. Our approach to this DP spot is, we're actively searching and looking for someone to come now," said Moreira.
"If we don't find the right opportunity or the right player, we're conscious and happy to wait because we believe that in the summer we're going to have more options.”
