Having never played a match or even practiced with the Colorado Rapids, left back Miguel Navarro is moving on from Major League Soccer.
The club announced on Wednesday that Club Atlético Talleres exercised the purchase option on Navarro’s loan, which was set to conclude at the end of the calendar year.
Sources told The Denver Post the transfer fee was upwards of seven figures. Not a bad piece of business for a player who never logged a minute in Colorado.
The 25-year-old was traded to Colorado last December in a deal with the Chicago Fire which sent former Rapids fullback Andrew Gutman back to his home state.
As part of that deal, Colorado is still set to receive $225,000 in General Allocation Money in 2025. There was a sell-on clause in that deal, too, meaning Chicago would take a portion of the transfer fee from Talleres.
Navarro was supposed to man the left side of the Rapids’ defense, but the club brought Homegrown Sam Vines back to the Mile High City in January. It was a somewhat unexpected move at the time, forcing the Rapids to find minutes for Navarro elsewhere.
The Venezuelan then ended up having a career year domestically and internationally.
He started in 33 of the 35 matches he played for Talleres in all competitions while logging a goal and four assists, seemingly becoming a crowd favorite in the process. The Argentinian Primera División ended last Sunday with Talleres placing second in a tight title race.
With the Venezuelan national team, Navarro made three starts at left back during Copa América and put in a solid performance before losing in penalties to Canada in the quarterfinals.
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