Sources: FC Cincinnati loaning Alvaro Barreal to Cruzeiro of Brazil

CINCINNATI (Enquirer) - One way or another, it seems likely Alvaro Barreal has played his final game for FC Cincinnati.

Multiple league sources confirmed Tuesday, to our media partners at The Cincinnati Enquirer, that FC Cincinnati was loaning Barreal to Cruzeiro Esporte Clubbe of the Brazilian top flight, and FCC will still have a significant say in Barreal’s future.

The loan included an up-front fee paid to FC Cincinnati for Barreal and a $4 million-plus purchase option Cruzeiro can trigger to permanently acquire the player. FCC would retain a significant amount of the sell-on fee from any future sale of Barreal’s rights by Cruzeiro.

Sources stated FC Cincinnati has an option to terminate the loan if a transfer offer exceeding the $4 million-plus came in.

The need for the loan became evident after Barreal rejoined his teammates for preseason in Clearwater, Florida, last weekend. After Barreal’s desired transfer to Europe didn’t materialize, it became clear that Barreal no longer wanted to play for FC Cincinnati, the sources stated.

Barreal was assured by FC Cincinnati’s technical staff and ownership that they’d approve a transfer if reasonable offers were received. But the European transfer market was soft in January.

Maybe Barreal’s case to go abroad suffered as a result of a quiet January globally, but FC Cincinnati was content to hang onto him until the secondary transfer window in the summer. The club would have helped him take the next step then, too, FCC General Manager Chris Albright told The Enquirer during a Monday interview.

Asked about Barreal on Monday, Albright said at the time of his interview with The Enquirer he’d just given Barreal and a hug and encouraged him to smile.

The recently-acquired but yet-to-be-confirmed Luca Orellano was going to play the right wing for FCC so Barreal could hold down the left wing.

Now, Orellano will go over the left, his preferred side. In the short term, Yuya Kubo appears to be a strong candidate to play on the right wing for FCC.

Barreal was acquired from Argentine side Velez Sarsfield in August 2020 when Gerard Nijkamp was in charge of the technical side for FC Cincinnati. Cincinnati appears to be in a position to profit from flipping Barreal, although his exit is less ceremonious than many expected months ago when a move to Europe seemed likely.

Barreal departs FCC having started 87 of his 104 career appearances for Cincinnati. Barreal had a flair for the U.S. Open Cup, where he scored goals in both of his campaigns in the competition and in 2023 scored a quarterfinal volley that earned him a nomination for the FIFA Puskas Award.

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