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Real Salt Lake re-sign franchise icon Javier Morales

By DARRELL LOVELL

A day after bringing one former attacker home, Real Salt Lake has struck a deal to keep the face of the franchise in the fold, announcing the club has re-signed Javier Morales.

The Argentine playmaker broke the good news to the RSL faithful Wednesday via twitter, saying he had signed a deal to return to the club. Thursday morning the club made it official that Morales will don the Claret and Cobalt once again.

“We’re thrilled that Javier will be back with us for the coming season,” GM Garth Lagerwey said in a club release. “He’s one of the best players in RSL history, is incredibly dynamic on the field and is a stabilizing force off of it. We couldn’t be more excited to have him back for 2013 and we’re very eager to see what he brings to the field.”

Terms of the deal were not released.

Morales, 33, led the club in assists (9) in 2012 and is the franchise leader (44) in the same category.

Keeping the midfielder in the fold could help the club hold on to some consistency as it has undergone significant roster turnover this offseason with stalwarts Jamison Olave, Will Johnson and Fabian Espindola moving on to other clubs as the RSL re-tools.

According to Morales, the decision to return was one about heart and home.

“I had offers from other countries to go and play, but I wanted to keep playing for RSL,” Morales said in a club release “Utah is like a second home to me and the people in Salt Lake – the fans, my teammates and my coaches – have always made me feel very welcome. I just want to keep playing for them and doing good things for the club.

“No matter what happens in the future, RSL and Utah will always be in my heart. I can’t wait to be back in Salt Lake City to start training with the guys to get ready for the season.”

Happy to see Morales back with RSL? Impressed with what the club has done this offseason? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. I am excited to still have a ton of our core guys. I just wonder what the terms of his contract are? I think that our young midfielders can still learn a lot from him.

    Reply
    • Lagerwey confirmed he won’t be a DP, so, going off of last year’s salary limits, he’ll be making under $350,000 a year. That’s almost a $150,000 drop in his salary from last year (maybe more depending on the actual numbers). So RSL cleared some more room on their payroll here.

      Reply
      • just because you’re not a DP doesnt mean you’re making less than $350,000. With allocation money and the likes, its possible he’s still making DP money

  2. Very curious what other offers he had, but when healthy he’s still one of the premier play makers in MLS, so glad we could hold onto the talent. Forgot he’s already 33 though.

    Reply

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