Union re-sign defender Matt Real to two-year deal

The Union announced Thursday that the organization has signed backup defender Matt Real to a new contract, with two years guaranteed and a team-held option for 2025.

”Matt’s development both at left back and in the center of defense will be extremely valuable for us as we compete in multiple tournaments this season,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. “We are confident Matt’s growth means he can be a contributor in the different formations we deploy this year. His hard work improving his game is proof that he has a lot to offer as we aim to improve on our historic 2022 season.”

It’s not surprising that the Union wanted to strike a new deal with Real, a 23-year-old Drexel Hill native who grew up in the team’s youth academy. But it wasn’t that long ago that the team and player were set to separate. When Real’s rookie contract expired at the end of 2021, the Union seemed content to let him sign elsewhere, with Kai Wagner in top form and Anton Sorenson rising through the prospect ranks.

Real never moved, though. Instead, he showed up on the first day of last year’s preseason camp, and Union manager Jim Curtin revealed Real had signed a one-year deal. That year came and went, so it was time for new talks.

Since turning pro in 2018, Real has played 45 games for the Union’s first team, with 14 starts. The most games he’s played in one year in all competitions is 16 in 2020, when Wagner had two stretches out injured.

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Real could beat that total this year, with 50-plus games on deck for the Union. You’ve read it here multiple times already, and you’ll keep reading it: one of this year’s biggest themes for the team is the size of its schedule.

There’s also the perennial question of Wagner’s future. This week saw the end of the third straight winter transfer window in Europe where the Germany native wanted to go back across the Atlantic, but there was no deal.

As usual, there were rumors, claims, tweets, and so on. And the Union are ready to let him go in a fair deal. But from the sound of things, there were barely any offers.

The last team reportedly interested in him was Italy’s Bologna, whose owner, Joey Saputo, is the longtime owner of CF Montreal. He’d know about Wagner, and he’d know about the Union — even more so since Montreal just sold them attacker Joaquín Torres.

But Bologna’s interest never became anything formal. So Wagner’s still here and in the last year of his contract. The Union will have to either sell him this summer or get him to agree to a new deal.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner knows he has a decision to make about staying with the Union

After last Sunday’s scrimmage against Minnesota United, Union players got a few days off to go home to their families. They’re now back on the field in Clearwater, Fla., and will stay down south until Feb. 18. The team’s next scrimmage is Sunday against the New England Revolution (noon, no broadcast) in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., just over an hour south of the team’s base.

For the first time since 2019, Forbes has published its MLS franchise value estimates. The Union are ranked No. 13 with a value of $575 million. Forbes said the team earned $54 million in revenue last year and had a net loss of $8 million.

As it had been three years since the last valuations, it wasn’t surprising that every team’s value went up by a lot. The Union’s value in 2019 was $240 million, with reported revenues of $21 million and a net loss of $5 million.

The Union’s place in the value standings also went up significantly. They were ranked No. 18 three years ago. Notable teams beneath the Union now include four with marquee new stadiums: the Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati, Minnesota United, and Nashville SC. Other big-city outfits below the Union include the New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, and Chicago Fire.

That rise of five spots is the second-biggest rise of any team in the league. Columbus’ eight-spot jump from No. 23 to No. 15 was the biggest, fueled by its new venue on the west edge of downtown Columbus. Chicago fell the farthest, tumbling 15 spots from No. 8 to No. 23. Orlando had the second-biggest fall, from No. 12 to No. 24.

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Notably, the Union achieved their value with the league’s No. 16 — $54 million, tied with Minnesota. In the profit-and-loss standings, the Union rank No. 21, with the same net loss as Columbus and FC Dallas.

Los Angeles FC swept the valuation, net profit, and total revenue titles, with no need for a comeback or extra time. The Black-and-Gold are the first MLS team to earn a $1 billion valuation. The crosstown rival Galaxy rank No. 2 at $925 million, and Atlanta United is No. 3 at $850 million. The three smallest values belong to the Colorado Rapids ($350 million), Montreal ($375 million), and Dallas ($400 million).

Colorado had the lowest value in 2019, too, when the league had 24 teams. It now has 29.

LAFC split the profit title with D.C. United, each with a net profit of $8 million. That will raise eyebrows in the nation’s capital, since D.C. had MLS’ worst record last year by seven points. Chicago had the biggest loss, $18 million, with Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps next at losses of $15 million.

In the revenue standings, LAFC was the runaway winner with $116 million — the only nine-figure sum. Then came the Galaxy ($98 million) and Austin FC ($84 million). The bottom three are Vancouver ($21 million), Chicago ($25 million), and Montreal ($30 million).