Real Salt Lake Signs Gomez, Breaks Club Record Transfer Fee
Jan 10, 2023, 1:52 PM
America First Field during a match between Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders in 2022. (Photo by Laura Dearden/Real Salt Lake)
(Photo by Laura Dearden/Real Salt Lake)
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake has acquired winger Carlos Andrés Gómez from Colombian powerhouse Millonarios FC, the club has confirmed.
Gómez, 20, joins Real Salt Lake breaking the clubs all-time record transfer fee. The acquisition is pending his visa status and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
Gómez will join RSL during its 2023 preseason preparations via Major League Soccer’s U22 roster mechanism. Gómez arrives on the Wasatch Front under contract through the 2027 MLS season, with a player option for 2028.
Biggest Signing In Real Salt Lake History
It’s official.
Bienvenido, Andrés!
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 10, 2023
“This is an exciting day for our Club as we bolster a strong returning core with a dynamic attacking addition in Carlos Andres Gómez,” said GM Elliot Fall. “Andres is a player that quickly rose to the top of our target list over the last several months and we are very pleased to be able to finalize his acquisition. His athleticism and creativity will be a welcome addition to our stable of attacking players. We look forward to getting him to the Wasatch Front shortly and integrating him to our group as we pursue hardware across multiple fronts in 2023.”
Gómez scored 12 goals in 58 appearances during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns with Millonarios. Three of Gómez’ goals came during the Copa Colombia competition, for which he earned the tournaments Golden Boot award en route to the 2022 championship. He has spent the majority of his professional career playing on both the left and right-wing.
Gómez joins the likes of Anderson Julio, Justin Meram, Maikel Chang, and Jefferson Savarino, among others for competition in the attacking third. The club is still hopeful to sign a central striker following the departures of Bobby Wood and Sergio Cordova this offseason.
Real Salt Lake players reported for pre-season training on Saturday, January 7, and will enjoy a few weeks in Utah before traveling interstate to further enhance their preseason ventures. It remains unknown when Gómez will join Real Salt Lake, however, work visas usually take multiple weeks before applicants receive travel permission.
