Orlando City announces the exit of former Arsenal forward Júlio Baptista

  Orlando City, who failed to make the playoffs in their two seasons in Major League Soccer, did not renew the contract with Brazilian forward Júlio Baptista. Baptista, formerly of Premier League club Arsenal, scored five goals in 23 games for Orlando City. The passage of Júlio Baptista in the United States lasted for just […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-11-24 17:31:00

 

Orlando City, who failed to make the playoffs in their two seasons in Major League Soccer, did not renew the contract with Brazilian forward Júlio Baptista.
Baptista, formerly of Premier League club Arsenal, scored five goals in 23 games for Orlando City. The passage of Júlio Baptista in the United States lasted for just one season. The American club announced on Wednesday that they will not have the player for the Major League Soccer [MLS] in 2017. They announced that another five players have also been released: Kevin Alston, Luke Boden, Seb Hines, Tyler Turner and Brazilian midfielder Pedro Ribeiro. Assistant general manager Niki Budalić, however, left the door open for some of them to be brought back next season. He said: “We would like to sincerely thank all six players for their contributions to the club, some of whom have been with us since USL [another American league, in which Orlando City played until 2014]. We will remain in discussions with a few of them about a possible return in 2017."
With Kaka as the star, Orlando City made their MLS debut in 2015 but failed to qualify for the playoffs in their two editions. Júlio Baptista had been without a club since leaving Cruzeiro in December 2015, and joined Orlando in March. Next Saturday, the Brazilian will be in Russia to participate in the draw of the Confederations Cup, as a special guest of FIFA. The player is a two-time champion of the competition with Brazil, in 2005 and 2009.

Orlando City, who failed to make the playoffs in their two seasons in Major League Soccer, did not renew the contract with Brazilian forward Júlio Baptista.

Baptista, formerly of Premier League club Arsenal, scored five goals in 23 games for Orlando City. The passage of Júlio Baptista in the United States lasted for just one season. The American club announced on Wednesday that they will not have the player for the Major League Soccer [MLS] in 2017. They announced that another five players have also been released: Kevin Alston, Luke Boden, Seb Hines, Tyler Turner and Brazilian midfielder Pedro Ribeiro. Assistant general manager Niki Budalić, however, left the door open for some of them to be brought back next season. He said: “We would like to sincerely thank all six players for their contributions to the club, some of whom have been with us since USL [another American league, in which Orlando City played until 2014]. We will remain in discussions with a few of them about a possible return in 2017."

With Kaka as the star, Orlando City made their MLS debut in 2015 but failed to qualify for the playoffs in their two editions. Júlio Baptista had been without a club since leaving Cruzeiro in December 2015, and joined Orlando in March. Next Saturday, the Brazilian will be in Russia to participate in the draw of the Confederations Cup, as a special guest of FIFA. The player is a two-time champion of the competition with Brazil, in 2005 and 2009.

 

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