Emiliano Rigoni is an Austin FC player. The club made its signing of the 29-year-old Argentine winger official on Friday, announcing that a deal had been reached for Rigoni's transfer from São Paulo FC in Brazil.
The announcement felt like a formality after several weeks of reports and rumors linking to Rigoni to Austin. Reports out of Brazil were that the transfer fee for Rigoni is $4 million, to be paid in two installments — one at the time of purchase and the other in January 2023.
Rigoni will occupy the designated player spot that became available following the departure of Cecilio Domínguez, whose contract was terminated in a mutual agreement between Austin FC and the player. That move was announced on July 23, six days before Verde made the Rigoni transfer official.
“Austin FC is an ambitious Club and I’m excited to help the organization reach its goals this season and beyond,” said Rigoni via the press release. “I want to thank Claudio and Josh for this opportunity, and will give everything I have for this Club and this fanbase.”
“We’re very excited to welcome Emiliano and his family to Austin,” said Austin FC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna, also by way of the release. “He’s a winger with a lot of quality and experience competing in some of the top leagues around the world. His abilities are an excellent fit for our style of play.”
Sos es VERDE. 🌳
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 29, 2022
Welcome to Austin, @EmiRigoni! pic.twitter.com/UwLYIo8WaM
Aside from the hefty DP label, Rigoni brings his reputation as a two-footed winger capable of breaking games open, and he has familiarity with Verde star and current league MVP frontrunner Sebastián Driussi. The pair were teammates at Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia.
“Yes, he is my friend,” Driussi told The Striker earlier this month when asked about Rigoni. “I got to play with him at Zenit. The truth is that I have a very good relationship. I told him a little about the club, he asked me. I told him that here you can’t come to relax but rather you have to come to work hard. He knows that.”
Unlike many of the DP signings made by MLS clubs this summer, Rigoni won't need to be a savior. Austin FC is currently second in the Western Conference, flying toward the first playoff appearance in the club's two-year history. And as league frontrunner Los Angeles FC splashed for European stars Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini, the thinking appears to be that Verde will need some extra firepower down the stretch to challenge for MLS Cup.
If he can regain the form he showed upon his arrival to São Paulo, Rigoni is certainly capable. He scored 11 goals in his first 29 games before his form dropped off this season. He had scored only two goals in 31 appearances at the time of his transfer.
Prior to São Paulo, he played for Spanish club Elche CF in La Liga. Before that, while under contract with Zenit, he had loan stints with Atalanta in the Italian Serie A and Sampdoria in Spain. He also played for Independiente in Argentina, the same club that Austin FC acquired Domínguez from.
The fee for Rigoni is the second-largest sum Verde has paid for a player, behind Driussi who was bought from Zenit for around $7 million.
Though the club did not confirm the fee in its official release, citing "club policy," it did note that Rigoni's Designated Player contract is "guaranteed through the 2024 MLS season with options in 2025 and 2026."
The release also noted Rigoni will arrive in Austin in the coming weeks pending his P1 visa.
So far, Austin FC is one-for-three on DP signings from outside MLS, although Driussi's dramatic success has overshadowed the failings of Domínguez — whose problems were mostly off the field — and Argentine midfielder Tomás Pochettino who is technically still under contract with the club but is currently on loan with River Plate.
The third DP spot is currently filled by captain Alex Ring, who arrived at the club as a non-DP before he received a contract extension last offseason.
Rigoni's ties to Driussi, and the star's blessing, should leave fans with optimism that this DP signing has potential to give Austin a fully loaded roster. At least for the time being, his addition means that Verde has its maximum number of DPs, international spots, senior roster spots and under-22 initiative players filled.
All the better to chase a trophy with.
