RSL Defender Aaron Herrera Acquired By CF Montreal
Dec 21, 2022, 8:02 AM
RSL defender Aaron Herrera (Courtesy of Real Salt Lake)
(Courtesy of Real Salt Lake)
SALT LAKE CITY – CF Montreal has acquired Real Salt Lake homegrown defender Aaron Herrera, the club announced in a press release.
Herrera To CF Montreal Details
In exchange for Herrera, Real Salt Lake will receive $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), one international roster spot, and the 25th pick in today’s MLS SuperDraft. Real Salt Lake now holds the 16th and 25th picks in the opening round of the draft.
“The RSL GAM acquired from CF Montréal is split into $350,000 in 2023, with the additional $150,000 conveying in 2024. RSL may also retain a percentage of a future transfer fee for Herrera, should his fee meet a certain threshold,” the club statement reads.
Forever family.
Thank you for everything you’ve done for this Club, city and community, Aaron. pic.twitter.com/ujdkp2R0cc
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) December 21, 2022
Herrera, 25, became the 16th RSL Homegrown player when he signed on December 15, 2017, and has since made 132 appearances over five seasons, 127 of which he started. During his time at Real Salt Lake, Herrera became an influential piece to the backline of Real Salt Lake. He is only the second homegrown player to amass 100 career MLS appearances, Justen Glad leads the list with 191 appearances to date and counting.
Herrera first debuted for Real Salt Lake in 2018, where he appeared in 19 games, starting in 17 of them, including all three of Real Salt Lake’s playoff fixtures. His best season to date came in 2021 when he amassed 11 assists while also managing to score the only goal of his MLS career.
The 2022 campaign was a frustrating one for Herrera who battled match fitness at the start of the season following an interrupted offseason due to injury. The emergence of Andrew Brody, a very close friend of Herrera and former roommate of his, has created a log jam at the right-back position. Furthermore, the midseason addition of Costa Rican international Bryan Oviedo, who plays left-back, has inevitably aided the club’s decision to ship Herrera to Montreal.
Interestingly, in June of 2022, Herrera signed a multi-year contract extension with Real Salt Lake that was expected to see him at the club until at least 2024, with club options for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
