CHESTER, Pa. (Oct. 16, 2020) – Philadelphia Union today announced they have reached a historic transfer agreement with FC Red Bull Salzburg for homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson. The deal, which is the Union’s first outgoing European transfer, includes a multi-million-dollar transfer fee, as well as additional performance-based bonuses, for the highest ever transfer fee for a U.S.-based homegrown player. The Union will also retain a percentage of any future transfer fees for Aaronson.
Aaronson, 19, a product of the Philadelphia Union Academy, will finish the 2020 MLS season with the Union before joining FC Red Bull Salzburg. He will be eligible to play for FC Red Bull Salzburg when the international transfer window reopens in January 2021.
A local product from Medford, New Jersey, Aaronson first joined Union Juniors at age 11 and remained with the academy throughout his youth. After initially committing to Indiana University in his junior year, Aaronson decided to turn professional, signing a Homegrown Player deal on September 17, 2018, that saw him join the first team ahead of the 2019 season.
In his club and league debut, Aaronson started and scored at Atlanta United on March 17, 2019. Now in his second season with the club, he has recorded seven goals and five assists in 42 matches, 39 of which he has started.
Aaronson earned his first senior US Men’s National Team call-up in October of 2019 for a pair of Concacaf Nations League matches following appearances at multiple levels of the US Men’s Youth National Team setup, including the U-15s, U-19s, and U-23s. He earned his first cap in a friendly against Costa Rica (February 1, 2020), where he featured in the starting XI, playing 66 minutes in the 1-0 victory. Aaronson was most recently selected to the U.S. Men’s Olympic Qualifier team last March.
Aaronson will join FC Red Bull Salzburg, who have won fourteen league titles, seven Austrian Cups, and three Austrian Supercups. The club, known for its impressive development of players like Erling Haaland and Sadio Mane, has qualified for Champions League play for the second consecutive year. This is just the beginning for the Union with the Brenden Aaronson historic transfer.
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Eric Williamson is the host of the Union podcast Full Time Philly and also contrinutes to many of the Union coverage. He is a huge fan of all the 4 major Philly teams on top of music too.
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