New York City FC today announced the club's end-of-season roster decisions, which you can read here.
The team says it remains in ongoing negotiations with Maxi Moralez, who was the only player with a contract set to expire in 2024 who had no contract options to extend his stay in New York City.
Contract options for 2025 were picked up for goalkeepers Luis Barraza, Tomás Romero, and Alex Rando.
Defender Rio Hope-Gund had his contract option for 2025 declined, the only player with an option who appears set to not return in 2025 (unless he ends up signed by NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro).
Brazilian winger Thiago Andrade, who spent this season on loan with fellow City Football Group club Shenzhen Peng City FC in the Chinese Super League, somewhat surprisingly had his 2025 option picked up. He remains a New York City player for 2025, though it's unclear where he will be playing in 2025, as his loan to China expires on December 31, 2024.
The club says it has a total of 31 players under First Team contract for the 2025 season, a season that will see the team led by a new Head Coach with the firing of Nick Cushing. Read on for more about the roster departures and what it all means for the roster as the offseason work begins in preparation for 2025.
New York City FC roster status
The goalkeeper position was the big area of interest come end-of-season roster decision time. All three First Team backups to Matt Freese – Luis Barraza, Tomás Romero, and Alex Rando – faced option decisions, with NYCFC deciding to retain the entire trio.
Freese is locked in as the team's starter after a great season, and because he extended his contract with New York City through the 2026 season back in December 2023. It's status quo, for now, for the goalkeeper depth chart below Freese
The Barraza decision is significant because he, along with Moralez, are two of the team's longest-tenured players. Barraza has been with New York City FC since he was selected by the team in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, a part of the squad that won MLS Cup in 2021 as Sean Johnson's backup.
The goalkeeper slid back into his familiar backup role following the ascendence of Matt Freese, with Barraza making just five total appearances in 2024. He started NYCFC's first two Leagues Cup matches, filled in for an injured Freese for 78 minutes in a road loss to Columbus Crew in the MLS regular season, and played twice for NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro games.
Maxi Moralez was the other big question mark looming over these roster decisions, and it's still unclear how the team will ultimately handle another end-of-season decision with a club legend. Moralez has already once said goodbye to NYCFC, appearing to leave for good at the end of the 2022 season, though he made a surprise return to New York City last summer after a few months playing back home in his native Argentina.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Option decisions
Barraza made 38 appearances for New York City FC across all competitions in his six seasons with the team, notably starting in goal when NYCFC won Campeones Cup 2022 by defeating Atlas FC 2-0 at Yankee Stadium.
Romero has the most MLS experience of the non-Barraza backup goalkeepers, having made 18 MLS appearances for Los Angeles FC in 2021 and six starts for Toronto FC in 2023.
The 23-year-old originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey didn't play for the NYCFC senior squad in 2024 but started in goal for four of NYCFC II's five matches in the 2024 US Open Cup, making eight total appearances for NYCFC II. Romero was on the bench as an unused sub for NYCFC's final four matches played in Leagues Cup.
With the MLS Expansion Draft coming up, could Barraza or Romero be potential targets for selection by San Diego FC?
Rando joined the First Team as a Homegrown signing in January after two seasons playing at MLS NEXT Pro level for the II squad but only made the bench for NYCFC once, an unusded substitute for NYCFC's Leagues Cup opener vs. Club Querétaro FC. It was back to NYCFC II in 2024 for Rando, as he made 18 appearances in all competitions for the Baby Blues (17 in the NEXT Pro regular season and playoffs, one in the US Open Cup).
The only player to have his option declined, Rio Hope-Gund battled injuries at times this season and played 949 minutes across 11 appearances for NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro and US Open Cup play. He was also on the bench for the First Team 11 times this season (five Leagues Cup matches, six MLS matches) but never saw any time on the pitch.
What it means for the money
Maxi Moralez was the highest earner with a contract expiring in 2024, as the 37-year-old playmaker pulled in $500,000 in guaranteed compensation last season and also occupied one of the team's 10 international roster slots. Thiago Andrade earned $219,600 while playing in China in 2024, an amount that now appears set to remain on the NYCFC financial books with the news his 2025 option has been picked up.
After making 25 starts in 2023 as the initial heir to the departed Sean Johnson's role as No 1 goalkeeper, Barraza earned a 13% pay raise and took home $172,688 in 2024 compensation.
The other two goalkeepers with option pick-ups, Rando and Romero, were tied at the bottom of the team's salary rankings. Rando and Romero both earned $71,401, while Rio Hope-Gund pulled in $89,716, three of the lowest-paid members of the New York City FC First Team.
New York City ranked 18th out of 29 MLS clubs for overall spending on player compensation in 2024, according to salary data released by the league in October.
New York City FC 2024 Player Salaries
| Player | Pos | 2024 Base Salary | 2024 Total Comp | 2023 Total Comp | Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thiago Martins | D | $2,000,000 | $2,462,000 | $2,112,000 | $350,000 | 16.6% |
| 2. | Hannes Wolf | M | $1,400,000 | $1,510,000 | - | - | - |
| 3. | Santiago Rodríguez | M | $1,200,000 | $1,331,333 | $1,331,333 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 4. | Talles Magno* | M | $950,000 | $1,065,000 | $1,198,000 | -$133,000 | -11.1% |
| 5. | James Sands | M | $1,000,000 | $1,058,333 | $1,058,333 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 6. | Keaton Parks | M | $900,000 | $1,030,000 | $550,000 | $480,000 | 87.3% |
| 7. | Birk Risa | D | $600,000 | $749,750 | $689,750 | $60,000 | 8.7% |
| 8. | Jovan Mijatović | F | $650,000 | $687,500 | - | - | - |
| 9. | Andrés Perea | M | $575,000 | $641,500 | $591,500 | $50,000 | 8.5% |
| 10. | Julián Fernández | F | $564,000 | $628,300 | $604,300 | $24,000 | 4.0% |
| 11. | Agustín Ojeda | M | $480,000 | $547,833 | - | - | - |
| 12. | Maxi Moralez | M | $480,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 13. | Tayvon Gray | D | $350,000 | $461,500 | $350,000 | $111,500 | 31.9% |
| 14. | Mounsef Bakrar | F | $360,000 | $456,720 | $432,720 | $24,000 | 5.5% |
| 15. | Nicolás Acevedo* | M | $300,000 | $344,800 | $274,800 | $70,000 | 25.5% |
| 16. | Mitja Ilenič | D | $240,000 | $331,700 | $295,700 | $36,000 | 12.2% |
| 17. | Alonso Martinez | F | $300,000 | $328,483 | $278,479 | $50,004 | 18.0% |
| 18. | Strahinja Tanasijević | D | $240,000 | $308,750 | - | - | - |
| 19. | Matt Freese | GK | $250,000 | $270,000 | $180,000 | $90,000 | 50.0% |
| 20. | Thiago* | M | $200,000 | $219,600 | $219,600 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 21. | Kevin O'Toole | D | $175,000 | $195,833 | $85,444 | $110,389 | 129.2% |
| 22. | Luis Barraza | GK | $165,000 | $172,688 | $152,688 | $20,000 | 13.1% |
| 23. | Justin Haak | M | $150,000 | $165,000 | $165,000 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 24. | Maximo Carrizo | M | $89,716 | $123,239 | $111,597 | $11,642 | 10.4% |
| 25. | Christian McFarlane | D | $89,716 | $112,972 | $108,700 | $4,272 | 3.9% |
| 26. | Rio Hope-Gund | D | $89,716 | $89,716 | - | - | - |
| 27. | Jonathan Shore | $71,401 | $83,901 | $79,860 | $4,041 | 5.1% | |
| 28. | Andrew Baiera | D | $71,401 | $77,337 | - | - | - |
| 29. | Zidane Yañez | F | $71,401 | $75,568 | - | - | - |
| 30. | Malachi Jones | F | $71,401 | $71,401 | - | - | - |
| 31. | Tomás Romero | GK | $71,401 | $71,401 | $125,000 | -$53,599 | -42.9% |
| 32. | Alex Rando | GK | $71,401 | $71,401 | - | - | - |
| Total† | $14,614,159 |
Oliver Strand
