FC Cincinnati signs midfielder from Portland Timbers for $12 Million

CINCINNATI (WXIX) -FC Cincinnati has acquired an attacking midfielder from the Portland Timbers in exchange for $12 million and up to $150,000 in conditional performance-based incentives.

Officials with FC Cincinnati say Evander da Silva Ferreira, known as Evander, will be the Designated Player for the club.

Da Silva Ferreira was named a finalist for the 2024 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player award and was named an MLS Best XI player last season. He notched 15 goals and finished tied for the league high with 19 assists, producing 34 goal contributions which was second-most in MLS last season only behind Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, according to officials with FC Cincinnati.

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Portland also retains a sell on percentage, should the player be traded or transferred.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Evander and his family to Cincinnati,” said Chris Albright, General Manager. “Evander has proven himself as one of the best players in our league, and his creativity and vision will be a great addition to our attack. He’s an excellent teammate, and we’re excited about how he’ll fit with this group. This signing is a testament to the club’s ambition and a credit to our ownership for their continued investment in this roster.”

Evander joined the Timbers before the 2023 season as a Designated Player via transfer from Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland. He spent five seasons in Denmark from 2018-2022, scoring 50 goals and adding 38 assists in 167 appearances across all competitions for the Danish top-flight club.

With Midtjylland, he made 27 combined appearances in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, recording five goals and seven assists. He contributed a competition-leading four assists in the 2022-23 Europa League, FC Cincinnati adds.

Evander began his professional career with CR Vasco da Gama in Brazil, where he debuted in March 2016 at the age of 18. In 2017, he scored his first career goal in a 2-1 win over Santos. Evander scored a brace in his first appearance in the prestigious Copa Libertadores, becoming the youngest Vasco player in club history to score twice in a Copa Libertadores match on January 31, 2018 against Universidad de Concepción.

The native of Rio de Janeiro has made 12 appearances at the youth international level for his country, 11 of which came for the U17 Brazilian National Team. With the U17s, he scored four times and also made two appearances for the side at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup as the Brazilians reached the quarterfinals.

The transaction for Evander comes after Major League Soccer instituted last month the unlimited cash-for-player trade, where MLS clubs may now use an unlimited amount of out-of-pocket funds (cash) to trade for players, allowing MLS clubs to acquire talent from within the league without having to use General Allocation Money (GAM) or other assets (such as SuperDraft selections or International Roster Spots).

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