Alvaro Barreal is officially off FC Cincinnati’s books for 2024, as his loan to Brazilian Serie A side Cruzeiro has been finalized and announced by both clubs.
The loan runs through December and includes a purchase option FCC was comfortable with, especially considering the flexibility the agreement with Cruzeiro offered. If another club comes in with a better offer on a transfer fee, Cruzeiro will have the opportunity to match that; otherwise, Cincinnati can recall him and complete the sale with the higher price.
The salary amount Cruzeiro is paying, on top of a loan fee, also covers Barreal’s cap hit for this year, which frees up space for FC Cincinnati to move forward on potential other signings. The undisclosed loan fee cannot be converted to GAM, FCC general manager Chris Albright confirmed.
Barreal had been hoping for a move to Europe this winter, but an extremely soft market played a factor in FC Cincinnati’s ability to find a landing spot for him, particularly one that would meet the club’s valuation for the player. Reports out of France indicated RC Lens had offered $4 million, but sources close to the situation said there were no formal written or emailed offers for Barreal this winter before the transfer windows in Europe closed Feb. 1.
The club and player were open to moves to South America, where some of the windows remained open, and sources close to Barreal indicated the player requested FCC consider the offer from Cruzeiro for a chance to further his career at his preferred winger position.
Albright said in an interview Friday at Mercy Health Training Center he was comfortable with the agreement, though he would have been happy to see Barreal’s development continue in Cincinnati.
“It's a place where Alvaro wanted to go, and a big part of us recruiting players is we want them to realize the next steps or their dreams of their career, and he thought that this was the best place to continue his sort of development,” Albright said. “I don't know that I necessarily agree with that. I still think that this would have been a better place for him now. But that being said, that's the sort of give and take when you're dealing with players and where they want to go and where they want to be. And I think the loan freed up a lot of money for us to go out and do other things. And effectively this is the nature of what we do. Players are going to come in and have success and want to move elsewhere. I would also say the way we structured the loan gives us a lot of optionality as to how we best capitalize on, you know, Alvaro as a successful FCC player.”
Barreal was making almost $520K in guaranteed compensation last year, but his 2024 option, which triggered thanks to the number of games he played in 2023, included a substantial raise, a source familiar with the contract told Queen City Press at the time Barreal signed his extension last January.
Should the purchase option not kick in for some reason, FCC would bring Barreal back to its roster for 2025, but sources on both sides of the deal expect Cruzeiro will buy the player or another club will come in with a better offer this summer if he plays well enough there.
“Alvaro is a great kid that comes from a good family,” Albright said. “We've been around his mom, his dad, his brother. I mean, we love Alvaro, honestly. I mean, like, we do all our players. We try to take care of these kids when they're here. And so yeah, of course, he's had a lot of success here, developed here, grew up here in some ways. And so yeah, absolutely.”
League sources indicated two clubs had inquired if Barreal would be interested in a move within MLS, but a source close to Barreal said he would not have agreed to play for another MLS club besides FC Cincinnati.
Barreal thanked FC Cincinnati executives and coaches on his way out last week when the loan had been agreed upon. He also posted on social media, expressing his enjoyment of his time with the club and in the city of Cincinnati.
“It was a great adventure we lived,” Barreal posted, as translated from Spanish. “I tried to give my best in every game, I take with me the best memories of this club, of this city, of the fans and all the good people I met here! I thank you for all the love I have received since I arrived and I wish you the best of the best always.”
Luca Orellano, who FCC brought in on loan from Vasco da Gama to serve as Barreal’s replacement, told local media last week he had spoken to Barreal about the club and received positive feedback from his former Velez teammate. The two played together at Velez before FCC bought Barreal in 2020.
Albright said it’s still early to assess how it’s going for Orellano, but he “has been great,” so far.
“He's a special player,” Albright said. “He's a different player than Alvaro. They're just different. But his professionalism, willingness to work, his ability to take information and apply it quickly has been really impressive. He's a very serious professional for his age, and he's very talented. So, you put those things together, and we'll see what we can make of it.”
Barreal’s successful transition to the left wingback position, after previously playing as an inverted winger at Velez, gave FCC confidence others could convert as well. Orellano also is left-footed and played as a right winger previously.
“We play a lot through our wingbacks,” Albright said. “Besides our centerbacks, they probably touch the ball the most. So we want them to lean offensive, or at least, you know, be able to produce numbers and be a threat offensively. And so yeah, that's something that we think Luca can do. Again, they're Alvaro and him are just different. You know, you're not replaced, the idea of like replacing players, you're just sort of changing players, but you're never going to truly replace. No two players are the same. And so, Luca is going to do it in a different way.”
While Barreal’s future with the club was in a period of uncertainty, the original plan had been to use Orellano at right wingback and then switch him over to the left side once Barreal eventually departed. FCC lost two of its right wingbacks with Santiago Arias and Ray Gaddis having their options declined in December.
The club was not able to come to an agreement on new contracts for either player, and Arias signed with Brazil’s Bahia, and Gaddis reportedly is going into coaching in his hometown.
Albright said FCC is still working to bring in another right wingback.
“We're still actively looking at improving and I think, you know, that's a position where obviously Bret's done really well, Alvas, Yuya is playing out there, but, you know, we lost Santi, we lost Ray,” Albright said. “I think a big part of the reason for our success last year was our depth. And so, we're going to continue to add pieces to give us depth in different places.”
The transfer window in the United States remains open until April 23.
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