LAFC pick up Benny Feilhaber from Sporting Kansas City

A big news item dropped on Wednesday, as Los Angeles Football Club announced they obtained midfielder Benny Feilhaber in a trade with Sporting Kansas City in exchange for $400,000 of allocation money, half general allocation money and half targeted allocation money.

Feilhaber, 32, becomes the first pure midfielder on LAFC’s inaugural roster. He had played for Sporting KC from 2013-17, enjoying unquestionably his best stint as a professional on the club level in his career to date, winning MLS Cup in 2013 and two U.S. Open Cups in 2015 and 2017. He was also a finalist for MLS MVP in 2015.

“Benny has enjoyed great success as an incredibly productive midfielder and has won multiple trophies here in MLS,” LAFC general manager and executive vice president of soccer operations John Thorrington said in a statement. “He has valuable experience and will provide stability and productivity to our midfield.”

Feilhaber was born in Brazil, but spent his high school and college days in Southern California, playing for a time at UCLA before heading to Europe to start his professional career. In that way, he’ll be returning home to play for the expansion team.

The off-and-on U.S. international also enjoyed his best stint for the national team under now-LAFC head coach Bob Bradley, so although Peter Vermes seemed to get the best out of him the past several years, there’s no question Bradley knows how to keep the mercurial Feilhaber happy and productive.

“Benny and I shared some good days with the U.S. National Team,” LAFC Head Coach Bob Bradley said. “I am excited to work with him again. He has an attacking quality and an excellent understanding of the game. We welcome Benny to LAFC.”

Adding Feilhaber gives LAFC a playmaker for the growing array of attacking options being assembled, including his teammate in Kansas City last season, Latif Blessing. We’ll have more on this move soon.

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