MLS media day: Julián Carranza is still a Union player, but might not be for much longer

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Major League Soccer held its annual preseason media festival on Thursday, and many of the players present were the kind you’d expect.

Here was Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi’s teammate in Inter Miami’s cavalry of stars. (But not Messi himself, because he rarely talks with the media, and isn’t forced to.)

There was Djordje Mihailovic, a U.S. national team prospect not long ago, newly of the Colorado Rapids after a try at Europe didn’t work.

Darlington Nagbe was one of a few headliners from the Columbus Crew, the stylish reigning champions.

Andre Blake came from the Union, as big a name as the team has, which says as much as it ever has.

But what drew the eye was one of Blake’s teammates, one who maybe wasn’t supposed to be here: Julián Carranza.

When the Union’s last season ended, many people inside and outside the team assumed that the Argentine striker would be sold to a European club this winter. This year’s preseason starts Sunday, and he’s still here.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner signs a new long-term deal with the Union, finally committing his future here

That doesn’t mean Carranza will be here when the Union start their 2024 campaign in late February in the Concacaf Champions Cup. There are multiple concrete offers from foreign clubs out there, and when Carranza decides to take one, he’ll go.

“My head is still in Philly,” Carranza said. “There’s a lot of talks around, but there’s nothing concrete. So I’m just going to focus on Philly, and if I have to take a decision before the [transfer] window closes, I’ll take it.”

For now, neither he nor the Union are willing to publicly say where those offers are from. We know that last summer Greece’s Olympiakos offered $7.5 million and that Germany’s Werder Bremen also inquired. But the Union rightly said no. They thought they could get more in the winter, and they wanted to win a trophy before then.

They didn’t win a trophy, ousted from the playoffs by FC Cincinnati in the conference semifinals. Can they now get a big check?

Carranza knows all of this and isn’t backing away from it.

“There’s talks with a couple [of teams],” he told The Inquirer. “They’re all asking what’s the number to let me go out. … I don’t think it’s proper for me to say [which teams], but yeah, there’s a couple teams around.”

Asked if there’s a place he’d like to go, he said: “I always have things in mind — I always dream of playing [for] the biggest teams. So we’ll see when the time comes to take the decision, and I’ll pick the best one for me and my family.”

» READ MORE: The Union will play Brazil’s Flamengo and four MLS teams in the preseason

The winter transfer window in most of Europe’s big leagues closes Feb. 1. Carranza could go in the summer, but he said he’d rather go in the winter, because his contract with the Union ends after this year. A sale in the last transfer window before his contract ends would likely draw less money.

“If I have to do a move, I’ll do it now,” he said.

Carranza’s offseason home is in Miami, which made for a short commute to Thursday’s event. He and his fiancée also traveled to Dubai and Rome this winter, trips he documented on Instagram — inadvertently sparking rumors he was moving to Italy.

“I saw a lot of people were talking about it,” he said with a laugh.

Soon, Carranza will leave the warm weather, at least for a few days before the Union travel to Clearwater, Fla., for preseason camp. While his long-term focus is no secret, he said his short-term focus will be on the Union.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m going to leave in a month, in a week, or in a year,” he said. “The mentality is the same: Get ready for these games, get ready to start the season the right way.”

» READ MORE: Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel named to USMNT’s January camp roster

Kai Wagner’s new deal became official Thursday morning, and he gave a lengthy statement about what it meant to him.

“I’ve been here for almost five years now and continue to grow professionally and personally,” he said. “I feel highly valued here and have a great bond with the club. My family and I also feel extremely at home here.

“Despite other exciting options in Europe, I decided to extend my contract with the Philadelphia Union because in the end my heart also played a part in my decision.”

Wagner also said his discussions with the Union’s front office “were and are characterized by a high level of mutual appreciation.” He concluded that he had “definitely more good reasons to stay here than to leave. That is why I said yes again to my club with full conviction.”

Later in the day, the Union announced that 18-year-old striker prospect Nelson Pierre had been sent on loan to Swedish second-division team Skövde AIK. Pierre earned his first MLS contract last year but spent the season with the Union’s reserves and never played with the first team.