Photo PSP photo essay August 14, 2025
Almost certainly Philadelphia Union players officially report for physicals a week from yesterday, that is Saturday, January 10th, 2026. We conclude roster announcements may come thick and fast this week. We doubt that the roster build, particularly its announcements, will be complete before the team leaves for Spain on January 17th. That would be a departure from recent past practice, but for obvious reasons the 2026 season starts earlier than recent years .
A Glesnes replacement?
There are unofficial but almost certainly reliable reports that the Union will announce signing Danish center back Sery Larsen (25.7-years-old). That should ease worries about Philadelphia’s back line. Like Jakob Glesnes back in January of 2020, Larsen comes from Norway’s Eliteserien (top flight). Like Glesnes was then, so Larsen is now 25 years old. Like Glesnes his stature is almost certainly physically solid judging by his reported height (6’1″) and weight (172 lbs.). Unlike Glesnes Larsen was not however captain of his Norwegian side (SK Brann of Bergen).
Also unlike Glesnes his Transfermarkt estimated roster asset value at the time of original Philadelphia acquisition is over a million dollars, so he may perhaps represent a slight step up in quality. One hopes his top-level pace is greater than Glesnes’s, but unlike Union decision-makers we civilians will learn that only later via the eyeball test.
Glesnes, Baribo, & Wagner: The business plan
| Player | Acquired | Est Buy | Est Sale | Profit |
| Glesnes | Jan 2020 | $ 770 K | $ 1,100 K | $ 330 K |
| Baribo | Aug 2023 | $ 1,500 K | $ 4,000 K | $ 2,500 K |
| Wagner | Feb 2019 | $ 50 K | $ 2,900 K | $ 2,850 K |
| All three players had become TAM players for Philadelphia by 2025. | ||||
We used only monies that should already be in hand, excluding the enthusiasm of further potential future revenues.
Venezuela
Given recent developments between Venezuela and the United States, monitoring travel conditions between the two countries may be relevant for Union fans as the team assembles in Philadelphia.
- Philadelphia Union II 2025 center back Rafael Uzcategui who reportedly has a club option for 2026 (about which nothing has yet been announced) is thought to have earlier been training in Venezuela during the offseason, as per PSP colleague Alex Hayden.
- First team primary defensive midfield reserve Jesus Bueno is Venezuelan, although supposedly has had family living with him in the U. S. during recent seasons.
- Union II right back Gio Sequera who is recently rumored to have been permanently acquired by the Union itself after two years of loans to the second team is also Venezuelan.
A rebuilt defensive line
| Left Back | Left Center Back | Right Center Back | Right Back |
|
Not yet known Per@TomBogert |
Makhnaya
U22; 21.7 |
Larsen
25.7 |
Harriel HG; 24.7 |
|
Westfield 20.1 |
Martinez
23.0 |
Pierre
18.2 |
Mbaizo 28.4 |
|
??Griffin?? AcadAm; 17.3 |
Uzcategui
U II; 21.2 |
Sundstrom
19.1 |
Sequera 19.9 |
Ages and significant roster details are given below each player.
The dean of MLS’s own writers, Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle calls Tom Bogert “Tommy Scoops” and suggests all MLS fans set their IT communications devices automatically to receive notifications from him if they are interested in MLS roster developments. Since Bogert reports for The Athletic, a subsidiary of The NY Times, his reporting must conform to the Times’s rules about sources, especially those sources that remain anonymous. Since starting with The Athletic, Bogert has not been wrong about Union roster developments. He says the Union will sign a new left back so we believe him.
- The defense diagramed above has three starting-caliber center backs, Makhanya (MLS), Larsen (Eliteserien), and Martinez (Liga AUF Uruguaya).
- Pierre is number four and should begin to practice regularly with the first team this season. His game minutes may still come from Union II.
- We expect Uzcategui to have his option exercised by Union II although our expectation iremains a guess, He could easily become Ryan Richter’s captain for 2026, but that is a also a guess.
- Sundstrom is a promising windfall from North Carolina’s decision to suspend operations for its senior male team for the next two seasons. We expect Sundstrom initially to practice with Union II and sit their bench as a defensive reserve. Coach Richter will be teaching him Carnell’s philosophy and system as he did with Uzcategui did last year.
A Larson-like acquisition at left back would make the Philadelphia starting back line credible keeping Harriel in the right channel. Westfield would be the top outside back reserve for either outside channel. Mbaizo is a proven reserve at right back . We expect Sequera will accumulate experience in early-in-the-week first team practices and second team games as the heir apparent to Mbaizo who is 28.4-years-old (roughly the same age as Wagner and Baribo). Assuming amateur Jordan Griffin continues to play his soccer for Philadelphia’s Academy and not for some new organization, he should have another year of play as the second team left back.
The depth above should suffice for the defense to fulfill the Union’s 2026 schedule, barring injury. Excluding improbable upsets in the Concacaf Champions Cup (C C Cup), between C C Cup and MLS’s regular season that schedule will play nine games in the season’s first 32 days, quite the opening sprint!
I forgot to include one relevant detail. The maximum individual salary budget charge for 2026 is $803,125. That is the maximum salary the league itself will pay.
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Any salary greater than that number must be paid by the club itself using either TAM, GAM, or cash.
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Remember that the league itself is involved in paying only six “special players,” i.e., DPs and U22s (either 3 and 3, or 2 DPs and 4 U22s). TAM players’ money above and beyond the individual maximum budget charge is the club’s responsibility directly.
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I assume without any direct or indirect outside corroboration that the total aggregated salary budget charge — the same for each club and discoverable in the relevant collective bargaining agreement (CBA) available on the players Union’s website — is paid to the league by the club itself. I have no idea how far in advance.
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In other words the Mas brothers in Miami pay Messi more than $11 million directly above and beyond the the $803,125 they pay him funneled through the league.
Sundstrom has been a starter for a full season in a league that is better than Next Pro. Being a reserve for U II is a step down. It will be interesting to see if he can force himself into the line-up.
Yes, it would be a step down.
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I have no idea what style NC FC played last year. A year with Union II would let him internalize CArnell’s principles of play, and do so presumably as a dominant player both offensively and defensively.
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Obviously he will try to prove that he should have a shot at the first team during preseason. We will have a much better idea once they return from the Costa del Sol.
Thank you for your in depth reporting, I definitely learn a lot from your detailed analysis. However, honestly, I have to admit that I reject the premise of your first chart.
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Listing a “Profit” assigns no value to the money that you saved from stability at a position that required no further spend on transfer funds. Often, no spend is required over numerous years.
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Additionally, a simple delta of “Sell” price minus “Buy” price applies no weight to the actual performance garnered over that contract period. More importantly, the equation is further incomplete because after the “Sell” you must roll that new money into a new player. Granted that next player may be cheaper and you can get back some money, but what if they are an inferior performer to the previous player, or both?
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I prefer to think of it on the front end of the calculation. If you are able to mine lower division talent around the world for low transfer dollars, have them for a number of years on a slowly sliding up pay scale, and especially if they happen to become MLS Best 11 players, you have already won.
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The comparisons to the “Moneyball” method, that always comes up about the Philadelphia Union’s financial approach, too, is something else that never made sense to me. The Moneyball method was most notably applied to baseball, where a small market team has local TV money and can’t compete with the large market teams. They aren’t selling anyone high. Most acquisitions would be for Free Agents, so it is simply mining undervalued players for cheap payroll.
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As everyone knows, most transfers in soccer are not of the free variety. Therefore, most of the profit that the Union takes ultimately goes right back out the door (for inferior talent to what is leaving, or talent that needs more time to mature). For example, Carranza left and in came Damiani. Carranza’s first loan year was 16 Apps: 7 Goals, while Damiani’s first year was 28 Apps: 5 Goals.
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Since it’s not really an apples to apples comparison to “Moneyball” anyway, and in true Philly fashion, I prefer to just refer to this CHEAP Soccer philosophy as “Unionball”!
It’s not a build, it’s a salary dump.
+1
American business practice is to look no further forward than the next quarterly report, i have the distinct impression.
so yes, for the next three month period it may be a salary dump.
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project further than three months, as do some business entities in the United States, many such overseas, and as does the Union.
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Valuing future potential quantitatively is difficult, more art and belief than science and proof. It does require time and patience on the parts of those making the value judgments.
Compare the “in” numbers to the “out” numbers for Jose Martinez, and then do the same for Danley Jean Jacques.
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Same with Uhre and Alladoh.
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I would speculate that for the new core they are spending noticeably more on acquisition than they did te previous time around.
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I suspect they are spemding more on salaries above and beyond the steadily increasing pool of the salary cap. If I may use the metaphor a rising tide lifts all boats, I suspect the Union’s tide is rising a little faster than those of other clubs for the vast majorities of their rosters.
I am not smart enough to figure out how to prove that, unfortunately.
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My guess is that Kai Wagner’s replacement will play five years an make noticeably more than Wanger did at a comparable point in his career.
Meaning ticket prices will continue to rise at a faster rate…
The five year prediction would mean they are bringing in a veteran player they don’t plan on selling. Not to mention they will have a new CBA at the end of the five year prediction and played a short half season next year before they flip the season.
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The other reason salaries might rise considerably in another five years is if USL D1 becomes a reality. The creation of a new competing league might start a bidding war for players at the bottom of the wage pool and players at the top but a bit older like Uhre, who can’t command DP money but might be able to sign above TAM level in the new competing league.
Any soccer club with a real fan base wouldn’t be able to pull off this slop. But we have a McMLS franchise instead of a real soccer pyramid.
Are we the Pittsburgh Pirates of MLS?
The Pirates won a couple championships. Montreal Expos would be a better comparison.
Funny to read the comments of people moaning about the team selling off Wagner, Baribo and Glesnes as if this is not the usual state of things for nearly every club in the country outside of the top strata of Europe.
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Yeah, this is a lot of turnover, and it will likely mean tough going next season, but the job of nearly any team in the great global soccer pyramid is to manage incoming and outgoing players in a way that maintains a profit — buying low and selling high, before that value is gone — not for the sake of buying new cars and homes for the executives, but making sure the money is there to grow and reinvest in the club. I can’t really fault the Union for being really good at the business of running a club. Far bigger clubs than the Union routinely do the same — from Ajax to Brighton.
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One could argue that the goal of winning a league requires spending like LAFC or Miami. That’s hard to argue. But right now, the Union is doing a good job of running the club sustainably. I think in a league where the championship is decided by a long playoff, this is even smarter. You can continue to be competitive and you just might win something in a cup competition where random moments can go your way.
But there is no penalty in MLS to spending big and missing on a player than the owner losing money, e.g. Atlanta 2025. There is no pro/rel or Financial Fair Play, and so many ways to get around the salary cap that it is silly not to spend IF your goal as a franchise is to win trophies.
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Everything you have said above is true, and I understand Union have a business model and plan. In a vacuum, each sale makes sense. But it is also true that in American sports, when a team is close to being a championship contender, the expectation of the fan base is for the team to go out and get the missing piece. Union have taken the opposite path, setting their own ceiling and cashing in on the assets.
The counter argument is that the Union were seconds away from winning the cup. They’ll see it as proof positive of the concept. Of course, I’d like to see them invest more. I think this team has been a genuine striker away from sealing the deal for a long time. Baribo and Caranza were both good, but not great. I’d spend everything to get at least one number 9 who’s a lock for 20 goals a season. I’m not sure Baribo was going to get there. He might. DC is clearly betting on it.
I understand the managing the roster part and with Glesnes & Wagner it makes sense. I have a problem with Baribo and coming into the team and performing yet not being rewarded. Not to mention this team starts the season in CONCACAF Champions League and who scores goals is a huge question mark now. Baribo loved the area and improved in scoring each year he was here. Looking at the reported number DC spent over all, it looks like he’s making just over 2-2.5 million a year. That’s a bargain for a decent forward in MLS. Now you are starting with a 20 year old player who will most likely need time to adjust. That doesn’t sound promising starting in February with CCC.
Yeah, Baribo is a curious case. I’m going to guess Union don’t think he’s good for more than 16 goals a season? A nice return, but they’ll want more. OR more likely, they got an offer they couldn’t refuse and don’t see his goal tally as irreplaceable. Maybe banking on Iloski as a natural replacement. Don’t know.
Ben Bender signed…
NOT sure about this one.
Someone needs to fill the Chris Donovan role.
Bedoya is resigned. Please don’t have him play any RB next season.
The combined schedule for the Union will show 9 games in the first 32 days, assuming they take care of business inTrinidad and Tobago. For those with long memories of Orlando, Defence Force has Kevin Molino.
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Odds are strong that they would face Club America in the next round, so advancing beyond that is unlikely, especially since America is in mid-season form and Philadelphia will be just starting.