The wait is over: New York City FC released the list of the nine players they will leave unprotected for the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft. It includes two strikers in Mounsef Bakrar and Jovan Mijatović, playmaker Maxi Moralez, and all three center-backs in Birk Risa, Strahinja Tanasijević, and Thiago Martins.
That's a lot of talent to leave exposed to San Diego FC, the Major League Soccer expansion team that will start playing next year. The 2024 MLS Expansion Draft will take be streamed live tomorrow, December 11 at 10:30 pm ET. San Diego are allowed five selections in total, and may only pick one player per team.
2024 MLS Expansion Draft
New York City FC | Exposed Players
| Player | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Thiago Andrade |
| 2. | Mounsef Bakrar |
| 3. | Rio Hope Gund |
| 4. | Jovan Mijatović |
| 5. | Maxi Moralez |
| 6. | Birk Risa |
| 7. | Tomás Romero |
| 8. | Strahinja Tanasijević |
| 9. | Thiago Martins |
Some of the names on the list come as a surprise. Mijatović didn't make a strong impression in his debut season for New York City, but the 19-year-old is a highly-regarded prospect who reportedly cost $8.6 million to sign — although Tom Bogert reports that the fee is being paid in installments, and it could be that if San Diego choose him they'll be on the hook for 75% of that sum. Likewise, Bakrar disappointed in 2024, failing to make the starting position his, but the 23-year-old does everything you could ask of a striker except score, and reportedly cost the club $2 million to sign.
Exposing Moralez is a safe bet. The 37-year-old is currently negotiating his contract with NYCFC, and San Diego are unlikely to use one of their five choices on an aging playmaker who may simply opt not to return to MLS.
Leaving the team's three center-backs exposed – including Designated Player and team captain Thiago Martins – feels like a calculated gamble. One of the few players already with San Diego is Paddy McNair, a 29-year-old center-back signed from Middlesbrough FC and currently on loan to West Bromwich Albion in the Championship. San Diego is in the market for a partner for McNair, and New York City knew they were going to expose at least one center-back who stands a good chance of being picked. Thiago Martins might be the best of the three but he is the least likely to be selected because he's a DP, and would require a San Diego that already signed Hirving "Chucky" Lozano as the team's first Designated Player to dedicate a slot to a defender.
John Baney
2024 MLS Expansion Draft
New York City FC | Protected Players*
| Player | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Julián Fernández |
| 2. | Matt Freese |
| 3. | Mitja Ilenič |
| 4. | Malachi Jones |
| 5. | Alonso Martínez |
| 6. | Agustín Ojeda |
| 7. | Kevin O'Toole |
| 8. | Keaton Parks |
| 9. | Andrés Perea |
| 10. | Santiago Rodríguez |
| 11. | Talles Magno |
| 12. | Hannes Wolf |
* Based on the roster released on December 5, 2024
Each MLS club is allowed to protect 12 players from the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft. In addition, Homegrown and Generation adidas players who are 25 years of age or under are automatically protected from the draft.
As MLS releases the names of the players left exposed, and not the players who are protected, it creates a bit of mystery around Nicolás Acevedo. The 25-year-old midfielder is currently on loan to Esporte Club Bahia but remained on New York City's roster as of last week. That means he is either on the protected list, or, if the recent rumor is true, he joined Bahia permanently.
2024 MLS Expansion Draft
New York City FC | Automatically Protected Players
| Player | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Maximo Carrizo |
| 2. | Andrew Baiera |
| 3. | Tayvon Gray |
| 4. | Justin Haak |
| 5. | Christian McFarlane |
| 6. | Alex Rando |
| 7. | James Sands |
| 8. | Jonathan Shore |
Hudson River Blue Staff
