Philadelphia Union trade all five 2019 SuperDraft picks to Cincinnati | OneFootball

The Philadelphia Union will not play a part at the 2019 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, which will take place on Friday.

The Union dealt all five of their MLS SuperDraft picks (13th, 29th, 37th, 61st, and 85th overall) to expansion-side FC Cincinnati.

In return, Philadelphia receive $150,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money (GAM), with a conditional $50,000 in 2020 GAM depending on whether or not Cincinnati’s draft picks hit certain performance-based targets.

“When evaluating how we want to build our roster for the 2019 season and beyond, we decided that acquiring this money is the best use of our SuperDraft resources,” said Ernst Tanner, Union sporting director, in a team statement.

“Not only will we look to continue both signing Union Academy products for the first team and Bethlehem Steel FC (Philadelphia’s United Soccer League affiliate), as well as attracting young talent from abroad, we believe that this sum of money will help us complete crucial signings ahead of the upcoming campaign.”

With the completion of the deal, FC Cincinnati now have a whopping 10 SuperDraft picks, which includes three first-round picks.

On Wednesday, Cincinnati received $175,000 in 2019 GAM along with LAFC’s first-round pick (16th overall) in exchange for Cincinnati’s fourth-round pick (73rd overall) and their initial 2020 Allocation Ranking.

However, if Cincinnati’s Allocation Ranking in 2020 is in the top-five, LAFC will then take Cincinnati’s 2021 initial Allocation Ranking.

It is rumored that the deal had been months in the making and that it included a ‘handshake agreement’ that Cincinnati would not select any LAFC players in last month’s expansion draft, which they did not.

For more on what MLS Allocation Rankings do, click here.