Austin FC sporting director: Diego Fagundez trade was more about salary than performance

If new Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell is anything, he’s blunt.

Meeting with the media Friday after Tuesday's headline trade that sent midfielder Diego Fagundez to the Los Angeles Galaxy for midfielder Memo Rodríguez and $900,000 of general allocation money, Borrell didn’t shy away from any topic.

He made clear that the overwhelming reason for trading away a fan favorite was Austin FC’s salary cap situation, which he described as having “no room” before dealing the 28-year-old Fagundez, who was given a $610,000 raise in the offseason while still under contract. He was El Tree's highest-paid nondesignated player at a salary of slightly more than $1 million.

“They were ready to (take on) that salary that he's got, and this allows us to liberate some salary cap here and have space and more flexibility” for the offseason transfer window, Borrell said.

He also made it clear that the Galaxy initiated the trade.

“They made the contact, and they were keen on bringing us to the table,” he said. Fagundez “was the first option for them. It came, and then it slowed down. And then very recently — obviously things had to get done before Aug. 2 — it happened quite quickly.”

The culmination of a rocky season

It’s no secret there was tension between Austin FC coach Josh Wolff and Fagundez this season.

After a match in March, Wolff called out Fagundez in the postgame press conference for subpar play and for reporting to training camp out of shape. He also said of the raise the club had given him, “We didn’t have to do that.”

When Fagundez returned from a groin injury after missing four games in the spring, he told the media after his first appearance as a substitute that he was ready to play 90 minutes again and that “it’s up to the coaches to play me.”

Borrell said it was a decision among the club hierarchy to make the trade, and it doesn’t appear Austin FC was actively shopping Fagundez.

“I don't want to hide from any decision,” Borrell said. “At the end of the day, this is a collective decision. And it's going to be from now onwards, obviously, underlie who has to execute the decision and who has a final say. But at the end of the day, there is a leadership team, and we discuss things together. And we try to decide what is the best for the team and for the clock moving forward.”

Sporting director: It wasn't about Fagundez's play

Fagundez wasn’t great this season, but he certainly wasn’t poor.

His stronger performances came in the late spring and summer after he returned from injury, and he seemed on track to regaining his 2022 form, which produced six goals and 13 assists.

Borrell said the move wasn’t about Fagundez’s play.

“The principal thing of (the trade) is not that he was underperforming,” he said. “I want to be clear with that. … Players at some points are performing high, some points they are average, and some points performing low. It's very difficult to find a player that is constantly playing high. The ones that are constantly playing high are the ones that are paid millions and millions and are on the best teams in the world.”

Borrell said no other major acquisitions would be made until the offseason.

And it seems unlikely that help from Austin FC II would come as he used the word “massive” three times to describe the difference between MLS and MLS Next Pro — which is essentially the MLS’ minor league.

2022 thoughts: Austin FC 'overachieved'

As an intrigued observer of the MLS while an assistant coach with Manchester City, Borrell said he thought Austin FC punched above its weight a year ago in finishing second in the Western Conference and advancing to the West final.

“I've been following MLS quite heavily,” he said. “In my opinion, I think the team overachieved last year. … They played well and had some good results in some moments where the good luck also helped. Sometimes luck goes your way; sometimes it doesn't go your way, and there are seasons that everything goes your way, and sometimes it goes a different way. I believe the team overachieved, and this is a credit to the coaching staff and the people that work here.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Borrell: El Tree had no salary cap room before Fagundez trade