FC Cincinnati finalizing Brandon Vazquez transfer to Mexico's CF Monterrey

Brandon Vazquez, FC Cincinnati's all-time leading scorer, will pen the next chapter of his career in Mexico's Liga MX as a player for CF Monterrey.

Monterrey and FC Cincinnati were on Wednesday finalizing Vazquez's transfer to the Mexican side, sources with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed to The Enquirer. FC Cincinnati will receive a $7.5 million transfer fee, plus up to $1 million in performance bonuses for the move.

FCC also has a 10% sell-on fee attached to the deal, meaning Cincinnati would net 10% from any future sale of Vazquez by Monterrey.

The 25-year-old Vazquez is under contract at FC Cincinnati through 2025 but he had repeatedly stated his desire to grow beyond Major League Soccer, which is a dynamic and growing league but far from upper echelons of the European game.

Vazquez wanted to play in Europe. He had interest from prominent clubs there and viewed the move as essential to achieving his ultimate goal of playing for the U.S. men's national team in the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

After Vazquez signed a contract extension in 2022 and remained committed to helping the club win its first major trophy, which it did in 2023, FC Cincinnati pledged to support Vazquez in his pursuits − as long as there were legitimate offers to acquire him. In the end, the best offer came from Mexico and Monterrey, one of the heaviest hitters in the CONCACAF region, which includes North and Central America, and the Caribbean.

Vazquez had numerous suitors, and was reportedly pitched on joining top-tier German club Borussia Monchengladbach during the 2023 MLS season, but Monterrey out-bid all other interested parties. The $7.5 million transfer fee is thought to be a premium price for the player.

Now, Vazquez departs FC Cincinnati as the club's all-time leading scorer (42 goals in all-competitions) and stands as one of the great success stories in the club's early MLS history.

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Vazquez was acquired in November 2019 via a trade as part of Nashville SC's expansion draft. Then-FCC General Manager Gerard Nijkamp brought Vazquez in for $150,000 worth of Targeted Allocation Money, or "TAM." For that price, FC Cincinnati gained a player whose time at the club will age well, likely cementing him as one of FCC's early MLS legends down the road.

Vazquez played sparingly in 2020 and most of 2021 at FCC until a late-season surge in 2021 that carried into the start of 2022. The investment to acquire Vazquez truly came good during is breakout 2022 season as he scored a joint-team-leading 18 goals alongside Brenner Souza da Silva, who transferred to Udinese of Italy's top-flight from FC Cincinnati this past summer.

Combined, Vazquez and Brenner will net FCC at least $17.5 million over the last two transfer windows. In between Vazquez's and Brenner's outbound moves, Cincinnati held onto Vazquez as the club ascended to MLS Cup frontrunner.

With weeks to spare in the 2023 regular season, FC Cincinnati won the Supporters Shield, its first major trophy. Along the way in 2023, Vazquez scored 17 goals for FCC across all competitions. His eight goals in regular-season play disappointed but he excelled in cup play, scoring in two semifinals among other big moments.

Vazquez also debuted for the U.S. men's national team in 2023. A dual-citizen with eligibility to play for Mexico, Vazquez made his senior national team debut for the USMNT and scored four times for the country. He played a starring role in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which included a goal against Canada in the quarterfinal round at TQL Stadium on July 9.

It's possible FC Cincinnati will see Vazquez again relatively soon. FCC and Monterrey would meet in CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 play if both clubs advanced from their respective first-round matchups against Cavalier FC (Jamaica) and Comunicaciones (Guatemala).

As an indicator of Monterrey's prominence within CONCACAF, the club has won the Champions Cup (previously known as the "Champions League") in 2021. The title was their fifth in the competition's history.

FC Cincinnati on Wednesday also announced the signing of free-agent center back Miles Robinson. Together, the Vazquez and Robinson moves likely constitute the most important day of personnel movement in FCC history.

More movement is expected, too.

Like Vazquez, FC Cincinnati left back and 23-year-old Alvaro Barreal is seeking a move to Europe. Based on his age and productivity since joining FCC in 2020, Barreal is a prime candidate to land in one of the more competitive Europeans leagues.

Cincinnati is also expected to replace Vazquez with a like attacking and goal-scoring player.

The Enquirer will update this report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati finalizing Brandon Vazquez transfer to CF Monterrey