Charlotte FC fortifies its attack before first MLS match with Daniel Ríos from Nashville
Charlotte FC made a move to bolster its attacking line this week with its first Major League Soccer match fast approaching. The expansion club has added forward Daniel Ríos from Nashville SC to its inaugural roster in exchange for general allocation money (GAM).
Charlotte FC’s first match is Saturday against D.C. United in Washington, D.C.
The club is coming off a preseason tournament in Charleston in which it only netted one goal across three matches, and Charlotte FC head coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez has been vocal about the need for strikers and wingers to fortify the roster.
Polish Designated Player Karol Świderski is “questionable” to play on Saturday due to unresolved passport/visa issues that caused him to return to Poland and remain there through late in the week. Brazilian forward Vinicius Mello remains recovering from a foot injury and is expected to be out until at least May. Yordy Reyna and McKinze Gaines are the only attacking players on Charlotte FC’s senior roster who are available for this weekend’s season opener for the moment. Multiple Academy players have also appeared with the club during training this week.
Ríos is expected to help fill the team’s front-line gaps early in the season, although it’s unclear when he’ll first appear for Charlotte. Ríos hasn’t yet trained with the team, which is adapting to Ramírez’s possession-based soccer system, so it may not be until next weekend’s home opener at Bank of America Stadium that the left-footed forward from Mexico sees minutes on the pitch. He will travel with the team to D.C. this weekend.
Charlotte will send a significant amount of general allocation money to Nashville as part of the deal: $350,000 in 2022 general allocation money (GAM) and $150,000 in ‘23 GAM if certain incentives are met. Additionally, Nashville will receive 10% of any future transfer fee outside of MLS.
Ríos, 27, was the first player Nashville signed to an MLS contract. He scored 20 goals in back-to-back USL seasons while playing with North Carolina FC, followed by Nashville’s USL side on loan prior to Nashville’s first season in 2020. He scored five goals in 30 regular season appearances in MLS with Nashville in the last two seasons combined, and notched one goal for the club during the 2020 playoffs.
Prior to the team’s travel to D.C., Ramírez spoke with the media Thursday about his expectations and what would be considered a success for the team’s debut, saying it would be if he feels that the team is competing, “And we are able to win the game and to be close to the opposite goal...controlling the tempo. This, for me, is success.”
Ramírez also pointedly opened his comments by addressing world events capturing the news cycle and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that it’s “very sad to see what’s happening in the world right now.”
“Those of us who have a microphone to speak to the public, and cameras, are responsible to say that we don’t want the lack of unity,” Ramírez said. “I believe that any war in the world makes no sense and there will be innocent victims.”
“Karol (Świderski) sent me a video of Polish people trying to escape in their car,” Ramírez continued. “We want this to stop. It is so sad for everyone because we are not learning from all the disgrace that we have created as human beings. I’m not here to lecture anyone, but I do feel the need to express my profound sadness and disagreement with this injustice and the war. We want to live in peace and in a society where we can be free.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 6:36 PM.
