A mere six hours after I mentioned the Ilie Sánchez-to-Austin-FC rumor and cautioned against premature excitement, the club announced his signing on Tuesday afternoon: a one-year deal with an option year that could keep him under contract until his 36th birthday on Nov. 21, 2026.
With the confirmation that Sánchez won’t be on a TAM-level salary — therefore making far less than the nearly $1.3 million he was pulling in last season — Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell has managed to tick three key boxes with this signing:
- Fills a position of need,
- without using an international spot,
- economically.
That position of need, defensive midfield, was filled imperfectly last year by Alex Ring, who prefered more of a hybrid role and had offensive inclinations even though he also filled in at center back during the Great Center Back Crisis of 2023, and Jhojan Valencia, a pure defensive midfielder who didn’t quite catch on in Josh Wolff’s system, logging 1434 minutes in 16 starts and 27 total MLS games in 2024 and a weirdly, nearly identical 1432 minutes in 2023 with the exact same number of starts and total games the season prior.
With both of those players offloaded in the offseason, there’s opportunity for Sánchez to come in and be an everyday starter.
