Charlotte MLS doesn’t have a team name, but it signed its first player
Spanish midfielder Sergio Ruiz has signed with Charlotte MLS, the team announced Wednesday. Ruiz, 25, is the first player to sign with the city’s Major League Soccer expansion team, which is scheduled to begin play next season.
Ruiz formerly captained Racing Santander, a club in the Spanish Second Division based in the northern part of the country, where he scored six goals and seven assists during the 2018-19 season. He graduated from Racing Santander’s reserve team in 2016.
“He is someone who has adapted himself very well to different roles, whether that’s playing in a two-man or a three-man midfield,” Charlotte MLS scouting director Thomas Schaling said in a team press release.
“Every team needs mature, dependable players who think about the team first. Sergio is a technical midfielder who reads the game well, both with and without the ball. We are looking forward to seeing him represent us,” Schaling said.
Ruiz fills the first of eight international roster slots designated to Charlotte MLS by the league. He signed with the team during the league’s two-day transfer window, which fell before the start of the MLS Is Back Tournament. Charlotte MLS sporting director Zoran Krneta said the team had been scouting him for several months.
“He is a natural leader and an intelligent, versatile midfielder,” Krneta said in a team press release.
Ruiz will be loaned out for play during the period before Charlotte MLS’ season begins, according to the team.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 12:06 PM.
