It appears that D.C. United want to keep United States international midfielder Paul Arriola with the organization for years to come despite his ACL injury. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that United opened the contract extension talks with Arriola and that the two sides already had “productive discussions.”
Arriola is currently rehabbing from an ACL tear he suffered earlier in the year and is expected to miss the entire 2020 MLS season. However, considering that his current deal runs through 2021, D.C. probably doesn’t want to risk losing one of their key players. The 25-year-old reportedly also wants to stay in Washington, so the two sides should get to an agreement soon.
Paul Arriola was one of United’s key players in recent years, so it’s expected that the new deal will allow him to keep his Designated Player status while also giving him a salary raise. He earned around $700,000 in 2019.
Arriola spent the first five years of his career with Liga MX side Tijuana, joining D.C. United in 2017 for a record fee of $3 million. Since then, he started 64 games with the club, scoring 14 goals and dishing 12 assists in the process.
Since 2016, Arriola is also a member of the United States men’s national team. He made a total of 33 appearances with USMNT and contributed with five goals.
