With under 48 hours to go before the Major League Soccer secondary transfer window closes, the Colorado Rapids brought in more depth to the midfield.
On Wednesday, the Rapids announced they had acquired Chilean central midfielder Felipe Gutiérrez from Chilean side C.D. Universidad Católica on loan for the remainder of the season. Gutiérrez, 31, has experience in MLS as he played for Sporting Kanas City for three seasons from 2018-2020. In his long career, he has scored 59 goals, including 19 within MLS.
Colorado paid SKC a nominal sum of $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to acquire his MLS rights. He rejected an offer from SKC to play in Chile instead. Now, if Colorado wants to acquire Gutiérrez on a permanent basis following the loan, it would negotiate directly with Universidad Católica.
Gutiérrez is re-uniting with Chilean Diego Rubio as both played together on the national team and in Kansas City. With only 12 games remaining, a playoff spot is still in reach.
“Felipe is an experienced player at the highest levels of the game and brings additional quality and depth to the club at a key juncture in the season,” Pádraig Smith, Colorado Rapids Executive VP & General Manager said in a statement. “His ability to dictate tempo and control games, along with his familiarity with MLS, will be an asset.”
Gutíerrez has also played in the Netherlands, Brazil and Spain.The MLS secondary transfer window goes through the end of Thursday.
Colorado will host Minnesota United at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
