The Union’s star midfielder is officially headed to the Bay Area
The San Jose Earthquakes and Philadelphia Union officially announced the widely reported transfer of Jamiro Monteiro on Monday afternoon.
The Earthquakes gave up an international spot and $250,000 in general allocation money plus up to $200,000 in additional general allocation money based on performance incentives.
“We want to thank Jamiro for his time spent with the Philadelphia Union,” Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner stated in a news release. “He has helped reach many club milestones over the last three seasons, and we wish him all the best in this next phase of his career. Depth in midfield is an area of strength for us, and this move not only opens more opportunities for our young, developing players, but creates two open international slots we can use to continue building our roster.”
Monteiro, a Cape Verde international, was first signed by the Union on loan from FC Metz in France on March 5, 2019, before completing a permanent transfer in January 2020 as a designated player. Monteiro played three seasons for the Union, appearing in 75 games (70 starts) and contributed nine goals and 21 assists during his tenure.
His transfer fee — reportedly $1.98 million — broke a team record and he was the highest paid player on the Union roster last season with guaranteed compensation of $1,476,250.00. He was under contract through the end of 2022 with a club option for 2023.
Mikael Uhre’s recent transfer from Denmark shattered Monteiro’s transfer fee record at a reported $2.8 million.
“Jamiro has been one of the most consistently exciting and effective players in Major League Soccer over the past three seasons,” Earthquakes General Manager Chris Leitch stated in a news release. “In addition to raising our level of creativity, we believe he is a strong fit for our style of play and should make us more dynamic in attack and defense.”
The transfer of Monteiro means the Union have now sold two of their key players — Monteiro and Kacper Przybylko — from the last three seasons in exchange for about $1.6 million in general allocation money. The two players salaries — close to $2.4 million in guaranteed compensation last season — combined for nearly 23 percent of the total payroll.