ORLANDO, Fla (April 29, 2016) – Orlando City SC announced the trade of defender Aurélien Collin to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for their conditional fourth-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft today. The trade will open an international roster spot for the Lions.
“I’d like to thank Aurélien for everything he’s done. He’s been a fantastic professional, coming every day and doing everything that you expect of a really good professional like him,” Head Coach Adrian Heath said. “It’s one of them things that happens in sport. They’re looking for a center back and we felt as though this will give us an opportunity to get some salary relief and open another overseas slot for us. I think at this particular time it’s probably been beneficial to both parties. I wish him nothing but the best. Been a credit to a profession and he’s been a joy to have around the place. He’ll be missed.”
Collin, 30, is in his sixth Major League Soccer (MLS) season. He played his first four seasons with Sporting Kansas City before being acquired by Orlando City in exchange for allocation money and Jalil Anibaba ahead of its inaugural 2015 MLS season. He has played 137 MLS games, scoring 13 goals and 3 assists. Collin won the 2013 MLS Cup with Sporting KC and was an MLS All-Star in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He was also named to MLS Best XI in 2012 and 2013.
Collin, a native of Enghien-les-Bains, France, was a fixture for Orlando City in 2015. Collin started 27 games for the Lions in 2015 and scored two goals, including a stoppage-time equalizer against the New England Revolution on May 8, 2015. He scored again on July 26, 2015 in Orlando’s 5-2 win over the Columbus Crew. Most recently, Collin started and played a full 90 minutes on April 8 against the Philadelphia Union.
Transaction: Orlando City SC trades defender Aurélien Collin to the New York Red Bulls for their conditional fourth-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.
