Officially at Toronto FC: Why Djordje Mihailović Left Colorado Rapids

Commerce City, CO – Djordje Mihailović is officially a Red. Thursday morning, Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids confirmed the bombshell rumor from earlier this week. Colorado’s best player has left for $8 million in a season defining trade. The question fans and media have been asking is simple. Burgundy Wave breaks down the unsurprising but obvious reason why Djordje Mihailović left Colorado. Nobody’s said it out loud. In doing so, they’ve basically admitted it.

Let’s start with what the player and Rapids management has said:

“Most recently, I asked for a move to Toronto for personal reasons, and I deeply appreciate the professionalism and understanding the Rapids showed in facilitating this transfer. I’m grateful to everyone I’ve met here; teammates, coaches, staff, and fans, and I’ll always carry those positive memories with me,” Mihailović said in the Rapids press release.

“This is really difficult to write. I know there are a lot of questions, but now isn’t the time to answer them,” Mihailović said on his Instagram. He went on to thank the club, coaching staff, teammates, and the fans. He ended the post with “We created so many unforgettable memories together, and I’ll carry them with me forever. Up the fricken Pids,” a reference to his iconic moment last year against Club America.

In his Toronto FC press conference, he said “The idea of getting back to winning trophies here (Toronto). Everybody talks about winning. Everybody talks about making playoffs. I could truly sense the truth behind them (Hernandez, Fraser) explaining their project.”

“I can sense the ambition from the entire organization to get back to the top of the league, and their vision for this project truly excites me. I am happy to be a part of an environment like this,” he said in a Toronto press release.

Burgundy Wave asked Rapids head coach Chris Armas about the news on Thursday after Colorado’s Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul:

“He had a big opportunity to move on to Toronto. When a player gets an opportunity for a step in some ways. There’s details that probably he knows and a different situation for him. He saw an opportunity for him. It’s an opportunity for the club to also benefit,” adding, “the Colorado Rapids are a better club for his time here. He’s probably a better player and person for his time here. This happens in our sport. A big club comes in with a big offer. Club record signing and fee. That’s all it is.”

Rapids President Pádraig Smith was asked about it as well but his answer did not add anything substantively new relative to the above quotes. Read more about the backstory of the move here and check out our transfer tracker.

I want to focus on what Djordje said. He refused to address the elephant in the room on social media. He was asked directly about it in the TFC presser and danced around it. The big thing for me is what he said about how excited he was to come to Toronto. He saw ambition and a history of spending to build a dynasty. Club leadership was convincing. There’s also the much talked about rumor he’s getting a new deal, likely with a substantial pay raise.

If that’s what he was running towards, what was he running away from? If you read his statements ‘I wanted to come to Toronto because X, I wanted to leave Colorado because they couldn’t provide X,’ it’s an inditement of club leadership and ownership support. Take everything he said and reverse the statement. To longtime Rapids fans, does that sound like the Rapids under KSE?

Nobody’s said it out loud. But if there was another reason, one that gave the club some cover (like Chido Awaziem and his family), somebody would have said it by now. Saying the quiet part out loud is hard, painful, but necessary to confront it.

In avoiding the question rather than denying the obvious, one all but confirms the obvious:

It was about money and winning.

Photo Credit: Michael Chisholm/Getty Images

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