Commerce City, Colo. – Colorado Rapids have traded DP striker Rafael Navarro to St. Louis City SC for a club record intra-MLS transfer. Colorado confirmed the $12 million cash transfer Wednesday evening. The deal includes a sell-on clause and $250,000 in incentives, making it potentially the largest MLS cash transfer to date. Navarro played 89 minutes on Saturday night, his final game for the club. His departure is bittersweet as Colorado is looking to have the most significant transfer window in club history. This is the second biggest player sale in Rapids history after the recent Lucas Herrington transfer to Hull City.
St. Louis and Colorado meet in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals on September 16. Navarro will be ineligible for the game as he is cap-tied to the Rapids.
“While decisions like this are never easy, we believe this move is right for both Rafa and the club as we continue to shape the roster around Matt (Wells)’s game model. Rafa leaves with our sincere appreciation, and we wish him and his family every success in this next chapter,” Club President Pádraig Smith said in the press release.
“”I leave with a heart full of gratitude, pride, and affection. I was truly happy here, and that is something no one can ever take away from me,” wrote the player in Portuguese at the end of his Instagram post, saying goodbye to the club.
Best striker in Colorado Rapids history?
Navarro joined the Pids in the summer of 2023 from SE Palmeiras. He initially joined on loan for a year for $500,000 and was made permanent the following year for a fee of $3.5 million.
In 97 MLS regular season appearances, he recorded 38 goals (tied for fourth in club history) and 15 assists across four seasons. He has shown to be one of the best pressing center forwards in MLS, at times single-handedly winning the ball and creating his own shot.
The 26-year-old has been good in hold up play as well. He’s shown his Brazilian flare, dribbling past defenders and drawing fouls, especially in transition. He drew penalties but had a mixed record once goalkeepers got film on his stutter step run up. Penalties aside, he’s a good finisher, not a great finisher. For St. Louis fans, he is very similar to JoĂŁo Klauss.
He’s made it easy for those playing around him. In 2024, he recorded 15 goals and 5 assists while Djordje Mihailović had 11 and 14.
Notwithstanding Conor Casey winning MLS Cup and having more goals (in a single season and total), Rafa Navarro is the best striker in club history. There is a reason he is now the second biggest sale in club history. He will be missed.
A professional till the end despite social media posts:
Transfer speculation for Navarro is not new. The last three or four windows, there’s been rumors out of Brazil that he could make a move back home. The most substantial was Fluminense last summer. He has been so good for Colorado that they stood firm on price. No club met their valuation.
Until St. Louis did, and then some. I’d guess most MLS CSOs would say Navarro is an $8-10 million player. The $12 million probably isn’t their “sell no matter what” price, but it’s close. It’s enough to where the Rapids FO and analytics team think they can Rapids Math/moneyball another signing and get better. Palmeiras has 20% sell-on clause which is not applicable in this case. Thank you MLS single entity.
Colorado could convert up to $3 million into GAM. Sources tell Burgundy Wave that was the plan with the Lucas Herrington transfer, so the Navarro transfer is probably all cash in hand.
Getting an overpay, not having to deal with Palmeiras’ sell-on clause, and for sure getting the $3 million GAM conversion is what made this happen. I don’t know if this move happens if it’s $10 million to a club in Mexico or Brazil.
This cash transfer is on par with Evander’s move from Portland to FC Cincinnati. Depending on add-ons, Navarro’s move could be a league record. Evander’s been an MVP candidate. Not sure Navarro’s ceiling is MVP dark horse.
There’s been hints he would actually leave this window. Navarro’s had two cryptic social media posts. Then there’s his last goal for the club was August 15 against Sporting KC. At the end of his celebration, he mimicked taking a crown off his head and placing it on the ground.
Then there was his reaction after the match on Saturday. He subs off at the 90th minute. He buries his head in the chest of Matt Wells. When the players got the Rocky Mountain Cup from Jason Maxwell, he was front and center. Lifted the cup, taped the badge, kissed it. He hugged everyone. He was actively crying. Later, he jumped into the stands, staying with the fans till after every other player or staff member left the field.
Is that the behavior or a player who wanted to leave?
Navarro has been great at compartmentalizing his potential departure with his job on the field. Last summer, he played in a dead rubber Leagues Cup game. Scored a goal. He told Chris Armas he wanted to start, he wanted to score, he wanted to stay in the match and win the game. He could have been sold the next day for all we know.
In four games since his first social media post, he started and captained the team all four games. Against RSL, he didn’t mail it in. He was committed on both sides of the ball. Could have scored. He embraced tackles, earning fouls for the love of the game. The club could have benched him, looking out for their longterm interests.
St. Louis are getting an absolute dawg who would rather die than give 99% and lose.
The Rapids Math behind contract talks and the transfer:
One wrinkle here is Tom Boggart’s reporting that Colorado and the player were working on an extension but talks broke down. We’ve seen this before. Sources told Burgundy Wave that Kellyn Acosta’s departure was exacerbated by contract negotiations. The club at the time was concerned about having so much salary tied up in one player.
President Pádraig Smith doesn’t like having big risky contracts that are hard to move off of. Navarro was guaranteed through 2027, with an option for 2028. He was good enough the club couldn’t afford to let him potentially walk.
Maybe he wanted a big bump that the FO thought was too much for his production. His guaranteed compensation is $1.5 million this year. With the cap likely going up soon and the Lucas Herrington transfer, would a raise to $2 million been a big deal? Maybe this all came down to Colorado avoiding the 20% sell-on clause. Or not having to overpay on the contract extension.
I am curious to see if St. Louis sign him to an extension before the end of the year.
Colorado pursuing Sayed Abu Farkhi, who plays forward and winger, now makes more sense. And those rumors started around the time of Navarro’s first cryptic social media post. Maybe the club was planning ahead and we’re seeing this all come to fruition in the final week of the window. I now expect Abu Farkhi to play up top.
The pressure is on. Smith could have never dreamed of having this much money to spend. Navarro was a good known quantity in MLS. MLS teams have spent $10 million on a DP before and have them be a bust. You can’t trade a player that good who’s lived by the fans and players and get the next part wrong.
It’s looking like the club won’t add players beyond Abu Farkhi until the winter. Giving the timing and Open Cup implications, that’s a hard pill to swallow.
I’ll withhold judgement till the end of the window. The window closes tomorrow.
Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. You can also make a one-time contribution via Tip Jar. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.
Eamon Shaw 