Report: The Union received a mammoth offer for striker Tai Baribo from D.C. United
D.C. United has reportedly offered the Union a $4 million transfer fee to sign Baribo and give him a Designated Player contract.
The old saying is if you can’t beat them, join them. For one of the Union’s longtime rivals, it seems that if you can’t beat them, sign one of their strikers.
On Friday, The Athletic reported that D.C. United has offered the Union a $4 million transfer fee to sign Tai Baribo and give him a Designated Player contract.
That is an enormous offer, even for a player who has scored 35 goals over the last year and a half for the Union. Though the Union took Baribo’s contract option for 2026, they had been hedging for a while on giving him a DP deal — especially with two strikers already at that level in Bruno Damiani and new signing Ezekiel Alladoh.
» READ MORE: The Union’s latest signing offers insight into who’s making decisions in absence of sporting director Ernst Tanner
D.C. is looking for a replacement for Christian Benteke, the former English Premier League stalwart who led United’s attack for 3½ years and was MLS’s top scorer in 2023. It wasn’t Benteke’s fault that he lost a lot more games than he won there — D.C. finished 10th or worse in the East in all four of his seasons, and dead last leaguewide twice — but it was certainly noticed.
Time will tell if Baribo suffers the same fate, or if the league’s original dynasty builds a good team around him. It’s been over two decades since United won their last MLS Cup, and nearly three decades since they were the league’s original dynasty.
It also was no secret in Chester, including in the stands, that Baribo isn’t exactly great at creating his own shot. Changing clubs within MLS will show to what degree his success was tied to the Union’s playbook.
» READ MORE: MLS knows it needs to loosen its roster rules to get better. But how far is it willing to go?
The Union already have two examples of that on the record, in their multi-million-dollar sales of Jack McGlynn to Houston and Dániel Gazdag to Columbus last year. Houston didn’t make the playoffs, and Gazdag had six goals and seven assists in 32 games. (Nor, by the way, has Julián Carranza’s move to Europe been a great success.)
Perhaps that was why a fair few fans on social media reacted to the Baribo news without complaint. Everyone will find out together if he burns his old club, but until then, this deal looks like too much money to turn down.
Concacaf schedule set
The dates and times for the Union’s Concacaf Champions Cup first-round series against Defence Force FC of Trinidad & Tobago were announced Friday.
The series will start on Feb. 18, a Wednesday, at 6 p.m. at historic Haseley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The Union’s home leg will be eight days later, Feb. 26, at Subaru Park.
The Union’s MLS opener is Feb. 21 at D.C. United, and their home league opener is March 1 vs. New York City FC.