Toronto FC confirms sale of former MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami

Toronto FC has confirmed the sale of Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF.

Toronto gets $150,000 US in general allocation money ($75,000 in 2022 in $75,000 in '23), with more to come if certain performance-based metrics are met. TFC will also retain a sell-on percentage in the event of Pozuelo being sold to a club outside MLS.

It's a modest return on a former league MVP.

But more importantly, Pozuelo's departure opens a designated player spot for Toronto with Italian international Federico Bernardeschi believed to be in the club's sights. Bernardeschi is out of contract after five seasons with Juventus.

The 30-year-old Pozuelo, who is in the last year of his MLS contract, just marked his 100th appearance with Toronto in all competitions. He became the 14th TFC player to reach that milestone.

"Alejandro has been a true professional since arriving here in 2019," Toronto president Bill Manning said in a statement. "He was instrumental in helping us win the 2019 Eastern Conference title, was the league MVP in 2020 and provided our fans with so many memorable goals and assists.

"He is a good person, and we wish him nothing but the best."

Some 20 members of the 2021 TFC first team have now departed as new coach Bob Bradley continues to overhaul a club that finished second-from-last in the league with a 6-18-10 record last season.

At $4.69 million, Pozuelo was the fourth-highest-paid player in MLS this season, according to figures released in April by the MLS Players Association.

While blessed with tremendous offensive creative skills, Pozuelo seemed to have trouble fitting into Bradley's scheme of things — which in itself has seemed fluid as the coach tested out the talent at his disposal. Bradley wanted a