Ammon News - The Colorado Rapids and St. Louis City set an MLS record on Wednesday when Colorado swapped high-scoring forward Rafael Navarro to St. ​Louis for $12 million.

That's the highest dollar amount paid for a ‌player in an MLS trade. St. Louis City could be on the hook for $250,000 more depending on how Navarro performs and retain a sell-on percentage.

Navarro, a ​26-year-old Brazil native, stacked up 38 goals in 97 league ​matches for the Rapids after joining the organization in ⁠2023 on loan from Brazilian side Palmeiras. Colorado acquired him permanently ​in 2024. He was a designated player for the Rapids and remains ​so for St. Louis.

Navarro has tallied 10 goals this season, which is tied for 20th place on the MLS leaderboard and ranks four goals ahead of ​St. Louis' two leading scorers.

The trade also enables Navarro to move ​one spot up in the Western Conference standings as Colorado (10-11-1, 31 points) sits in ‌seventh ⁠place and St. Louis (9-6-7, 34 points) is in sixth.

"We believe Rafa is entering the prime years of his career, and we are excited to bring him to St. Louis and get him integrated into ​the group as ​soon as possible," ⁠St. Louis sporting director Corey Wray said in a statement.

"Since I joined, Rafa has shown himself to ​be an outstanding player and an even better person," ​Colorado Rapids ⁠head coach Matt Wells said in a statement. "I've worked with some of the world's best, and Rafa has a mentality right up there ⁠with every ​one of them. It's been a ​pleasure to work with him day in and day out and I will continue to ​follow his progress closely for the rest of his career."


Reuters