Atlanta United could get Miguel Almirón transfer windfall

It’s been a busy off-season for Atlanta United.

The Five Stripes have strengthened considerably with four key signings in the bag and they could soon receive a substantial cash injection from a long-departed star.

In 2019 Atlanta sold Paraguayan forward Miguel Almirón for an MLS-record fee of $27 million to Newcastle United. Almirón impressed in the Premier League last season and helped fire Newcastle to the Champions League.

But the English club now find themselves dangerously close to the limit of the Premier League’s profit and ­sustainability rules, leaving them forced to consider cashing in on Almirón, who turns 30 next month.

The Guardian reports that Newcastle could sell Almirón to Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab, with the proposed fee thought to be around £30 million ($38m). When Atlanta sold Almirón four years ago they inserted a sell-on clause, which reportedly entitles them to 20-25% of the player’s next transfer fee.

What would this mean for Atlanta United?

As it stands, an Almirón transfer would be worth around $8/9 million for Atlanta United.

Of course, this being MLS there is a myriad of transfer and salary cap restrictions to consider. League rules state that a club receives 95% of a transfer fee once it has “recouped all out-of-pocket cash payments made by the club in connection to that player”.

Now, given that this deal is essentially a ´top-up’ on a transfer completed in 2019, all previous cash payments will have been accounted for and Atlanta should stand to receive a flat 95%.

But that doesn’t mean that they can bring in another key player straight away. Atlanta already have three players (Thiago Almada, Giorgios Giakoumakis, Saba Lobjanidze) signed to Designated Player contracts, so would only be able to add another DP-level player if they buy down his contract. Clubs can spend General Allocation Money (GAM) to pay a percentage of players’ contracts, easing their salary cap burden.

But wait, there’s more! Clubs can only assign “up to $1,157,625″ of transfer fees to their GAM budget and GAM can only be used to cover a maximum of 50% of players’ salaries.

In short, an Almirón move would certainly bring in some cash but don’t expect an immediate splurge.

Five Stripes strengthen in the post-season

The Almirón deal could see Atlanta return to the transfer market but, quite frankly, there isn’t too much that they need to improve upon in the short term. Club president Garth Lagerway has been proactive in the off-season and managed to address many of their weaknesses from 2023.

Veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan struggled last year and Atlanta moved swiftly to bring in Josh Cohen from Maccabi Haifa, an experienced stopper who has starred in Europe with three back-to-back Israel Premier League titles.

With Giakoumakis and Almada in attack Atlanta boast one of the best offensive duos in the league, but their midfield looked suspiciously porous in the post-season. That may well have been rectified by the addition of two defensive midfielders, each with a different profile. Polish international Bartosz Slisz will add energy and dynamism, while 36-year-old Dax McCarty brings a wealth of MLS experience.

Throw in 28-year-old Norwegian centre back Stian Gegersen, who arrives from French side Bordeaux, and you have new signings that can raise the team’s floor with improvements in key areas. It is perhaps the most complete and talented roster we’ve seen at Atlanta since their MLS Cup-wining team of 2018, a cause for real excitement heading into the 2024 campaign.

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