Jonathan Menéndez Arrives In Utah, Rubio Rubin Inks New Long Term Deal With Real Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has been busy as of late. General Manager announced that Argentinian winger Jonathan Menéndez has arrived in Utah while also informing RSL fans that striker Rubio Rubin has inked a new long-term deal with the club.

The announcement was made on local radio station ESPN 700 with host Spence Checketts.

Jonathan Diego Menéndez

Menéndez, 27, was signed with RSL officially on May 29th, however, has been waiting patiently for his immigration documents to be cleared by the Argentine government for the past month.

Finally, Menéndez was cleared to travel north to Utah and arrived at Salt Lake City International airport earlier today.

working towards Saturday pic.twitter.com/sUHi1hjfTu

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 14, 2021

“I actually met him at the airport a couple of hours ago,” Fall stated. “He is comfortably resting in a hotel and will go through his medical and everything tomorrow.”

Fall also stated that the front office is now actively looking to acquire any more players this season. However, he has been in the business long enough at this point to know that the unexpected may be around the corner at any time.

As the season progresses and results and matches pile up, changes may be required. Players may be sold or released and acquisitions may be made. But for now, RSL fans can sleep easily knowing that the current roster is set and the front office has no plans to immediately change that.

Rubio Rubin Is Here To Stay

“A few weeks ago we went to him and said that we wanted to extend your deal and improve the terms of it in an effort to really make this home for Rubio,” Fall said. “The deal keeps him here up to four years beyond this year, it is a long-term deal and we are really happy to keep him in an RSL kit for some time.”

no sleep 🔋 pic.twitter.com/22HNJVLwa7

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 14, 2021

Rubin joined RSL during the off-season from USL club San Diego Loyal. This season, Rubin has played in 11 games, 10 of which he has started, while also adding four goals and two assists during that stretch.

Furthermore, Rubin has impacted the playing group and culture of the team in a positive way. Fall admitted that his ability to interact with everybody within the club and be a positive light for his teammates gave the front office more reasoning to secure Rubin’s long-term future.

Other details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Next Match For Real Salt Lake

RSL’s next fixture will come on the road against LAFC on Saturday, July 17. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. and can be streamed for free via the KSL Sports & KSL 5 TV apps or on KSL Sports dot com.