Minnesota United announced on Friday that they have finalized a trade that will send Costa Rican defender Francisco Calvo to Chicago Fire. In order to land Calvo, who served as Minnesota’s captain, Fire gave up $400,000 in allocation money.
According to ESPN, Minnesota might receive additional compensation in the future including $125,000 in Target Allocation Money if certain incentives are met and a portion of the fee if Calvo makes an international transfer.
“Acquiring Francisco’s talents and character is a big plus for our Club,” – said Chicago Fire president and general manager Nelson Rodriguez in a statement. “He is a versatile defender with international experience in the prime of his career. He is familiar with MLS and has demonstrated a competitive mentality that should fit well with our group.”
Francisco Calvo played the better part of his career in his native Costa Rica alongside a short stint in Europe with Nordsjælland in 2013. Calvo joined Minnesota United in 2017 and immediately established himself as an important piece in the team’s starting lineup. After a successful first season in MLS, he continued with good performances in 2018 and ended up earning an MLS All-Star appearance which made him first Minnesota’s player to receive such honor.
Calvo played a total of 60 games for Minnesota in MLS and ended up scoring five goals and providing three assists.
