Orlando City GM Ricardo Moreira says team is working on signing a Designated Player
Updated: 8:37 PM EST Feb 20, 2026
Despite a reloaded roster this offseason, a third Designated Player is still in the plans this year, Orlando City general manager Ricardo Moreira told reporters during a Friday news conference on the eve of the team’s MLS season opener.”With no news to anybody that we have a DP spot available, an open DP spot, and we’re trying to fill this spot,” Moriera said. “We are obviously working with the fact that the transfer window is still open until mid-March, approximately, and somehow we believe that some opportunities may come after the World Cup, with players coming here, with players experiencing American soccer, the American way of life, and maybe there will be enough opportunities that will come then. But for now, we’re aiming to bring another player in this transfer window, but we’re also mindful that another opportunity can come in the summer.” The Lions moved on from several longtime players this past winter. After six seasons with Orlando, Pedro Gallese left following the expiration of his contract. Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel also departed the team. Designated Player Luis Muriel returned to Colombia following two seasons in Orlando. In return, and what Moreira called an aggressive offseason, the team brought in three U-22 Initiative players from Brazil: Luis Otavio, Tiago Souza, and Iago Teodoro. From inside Major League Soccer, veteran goalkeeper and Canadian international Maxime Crepeau joined the team as a free agent, and most recently, Griffin Dorsey was acquired through a trade from Houston to fill a much-needed right back position following Alex Freeman’s transfer to LaLiga’s Villarreal. Paraguayan midfielder Braian Ojeda also joined the squad in a trade from Real Salt Lake and signed a new contract with the Lions. “As I said before the holidays, we wanted to be aggressive in the transfer window, and I think we’ve been aggressive in the transfer window in many aspects,” said Moreira. “The caliber and the pedigree that they have , knowing how young they are and how they will need time to do what we expect them to do, but bringing three important players.” “We’ve been aggressive in the internal market as well, which is something that we are not known for,” added Moreira. “We still have an open DP spot available, and we’re going to try to bring the best player that we can to help us succeed this year.” Playoffs not enough Considering how things went last year for Orlando, head coach Oscar Pareja shared that last year’s early playoff exit wasn’t good enough, and returning to compete in the postseason for a possible sixth consecutive year is no longer an objective, but winning a title now falls under a high expectation. “We have qualified for the playoffs every single year, but that’s not enough already, and I think that’s a good positive thing in the culture of Orlando City over any team,” said Pareja. “When I came here, qualifying for the playoffs was the objective, and now that’s not the one. That’s a big progress for the club, and I admire the fans who are always pushing us. We want to win, we want the title, we want the trophy, we want to win MLS Cup. That’s the expectation on the first day, that’s what we are doing. The journey is long, but that’s what we want to do.” High stakesAnd with the objective of no longer falling on just making the playoffs, the stakes are now even higher, according to Moreira. “It’s not about the process of there’s always a ‘process,’ and we’re always trying to evolve and change and trying to find an excuse for something that we’re not accomplishing,” he said. “That’s not the aim of that. It’s the process that we’ve been here for so long, Oscar and me, and we’ve been through different stages of the club.” He continued: “At the beginning, the demand was to bring a good roster and qualify for the playoffs and then to win something, and we won the Open Cup in 2022. And now, obviously, the demands are higher, and we have to live with this pressure, with this expectation.”Big gloves to fill Maxime Crepeau is expected to be the new starting goalkeeper for Orlando City on Saturday when they take on Red Bull New York at Inter&Co Stadium. And the Canadian goalkeeper is aware of the expectations of him, considering the player before him left some big gloves to fill. But he’s also confident he can bring his own style to help elevate the Lions this season. “Pedro has been here for six years, and he’s been part of the walls here, but I think I can bring my own energy, my own personality,” said Crepeau. “I’ve slowly started to do that since the first days that I was with the team, and now we have a couple of new faces that arrive with new blood, with pretty much the same core. And so it’s important for us to bring our own personality and our quality on the field to make sure that the organization is winning at the end of the day.”
Despite a reloaded roster this offseason, a third Designated Player is still in the plans this year, Orlando City general manager Ricardo Moreira told reporters during a Friday news conference on the eve of the team’s MLS season opener.
“With no news to anybody that we have a DP spot available, an open DP spot, and we’re trying to fill this spot,” Moriera said. “We are obviously working with the fact that the transfer window is still open until mid-March, approximately, and somehow we believe that some opportunities may come after the World Cup, with players coming here, with players experiencing American soccer, the American way of life, and maybe there will be enough opportunities that will come then. But for now, we’re aiming to bring another player in this transfer window, but we’re also mindful that another opportunity can come in the summer.”
The Lions moved on from several longtime players this past winter. After six seasons with Orlando, Pedro Gallese left following the expiration of his contract. Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel also departed the team.
Designated Player Luis Muriel returned to Colombia following two seasons in Orlando.
In return, and what Moreira called an aggressive offseason, the team brought in three U-22 Initiative players from Brazil: Luis Otavio, Tiago Souza, and Iago Teodoro.
From inside Major League Soccer, veteran goalkeeper and Canadian international Maxime Crepeau joined the team as a free agent, and most recently, Griffin Dorsey was acquired through a trade from Houston to fill a much-needed right back position following Alex Freeman’s transfer to LaLiga’s Villarreal.
Paraguayan midfielder Braian Ojeda also joined the squad in a trade from Real Salt Lake and signed a new contract with the Lions.
“As I said before the holidays, we wanted to be aggressive in the transfer window, and I think we’ve been aggressive in the transfer window in many aspects,” said Moreira. “The caliber and the pedigree that they have [U-22 Initiative players], knowing how young they are and how they will need time to do what we expect them to do, but bringing three important players.”
“We’ve been aggressive in the internal market as well, which is something that we are not known for,” added Moreira. “We still have an open DP spot available, and we’re going to try to bring the best player that we can to help us succeed this year.”
Playoffs not enough
Considering how things went last year for Orlando, head coach Oscar Pareja shared that last year’s early playoff exit wasn’t good enough, and returning to compete in the postseason for a possible sixth consecutive year is no longer an objective, but winning a title now falls under a high expectation.
“We have qualified for the playoffs every single year, but that’s not enough already, and I think that’s a good positive thing in the culture of Orlando City over any team,” said Pareja. “When I came here, qualifying for the playoffs was the objective, and now that’s not the one. That’s a big progress for the club, and I admire the fans who are always pushing us. We want to win, we want the title, we want the trophy, we want to win MLS Cup. That’s the expectation on the first day, that’s what we are doing. The journey is long, but that’s what we want to do.”
High stakes
And with the objective of no longer falling on just making the playoffs, the stakes are now even higher, according to Moreira.
“It’s not about the process of there’s always a ‘process,’ and we’re always trying to evolve and change and trying to find an excuse for something that we’re not accomplishing,” he said. “That’s not the aim of that. It’s the process that we’ve been here for so long, Oscar and me, and we’ve been through different stages of the club.”
He continued: “At the beginning, the demand was to bring a good roster and qualify for the playoffs and then to win something, and we won the Open Cup in 2022. And now, obviously, the demands are higher, and we have to live with this pressure, with this expectation.”
Big gloves to fill
Maxime Crepeau is expected to be the new starting goalkeeper for Orlando City on Saturday when they take on Red Bull New York at Inter&Co Stadium.
And the Canadian goalkeeper is aware of the expectations of him, considering the player before him left some big gloves to fill. But he’s also confident he can bring his own style to help elevate the Lions this season.
“Pedro has been here for six years, and he’s been part of the walls here, but I think I can bring my own energy, my own personality,” said Crepeau. “I’ve slowly started to do that since the first days that I was with the team, and now we have a couple of new faces that arrive with new blood, with pretty much the same core. And so it’s important for us to bring our own personality and our quality on the field to make sure that the organization is winning at the end of the day.”