Federico Bernardeschi joins Toronto FC - Euro winner replaces Pozuelo

This article first appeared on July 14 and has been updated with new information. 

Toronto FC have signed free agent midfielder Federico Bernardeschi. Toronto made the transfer of the 2020 European Championship winner official on Friday evening. Bernardeschi has signed a Designated Player (DP) contract until the end of the 2026 season. 

“We are thrilled to add Federico to our team,” Toronto FC president Bill Manning said in a club statement. “As a player and a person, we believe he’s exactly what we need right now, both on the field and in the locker room. Federico has proven himself to be a champion and a leader at Juventus and for the Italian national team and brings a pedigree to Toronto that’s second to none."

Bernardeschi will join his Italian national teammate Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito. The transfer became possible after Toronto traded DP Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF for just $150,000 in General Allocation Money. Before Insigne's arrival, Pozuelo had the highest market value on the roster ($8.8m). In Insigne ($27.5m) and Bernardeschi ($11m), Toronto, however, are set to increase their overall squad value significantly. The club also added $5.5 million in market value by acquiring Canadian men's national team midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. 

But Toronto are far from being done in this transfer window. The club announced earlier this week that they had terminated Carlos Salcedo's contract effective on July 15. The Mexican defender's departure will free up an additional DP spot, and TM has been told that the slot could be used on another Italian star signing. 

Restructuring continues under Bob Bradley - Money no object for MLSE 

The costly restructuring under head coach Bob Bradley has turned heads both in North America but also abroad. But money is no object for TFC's owners MLSE, which alongside the Major League Soccer franchise, also own the NBA team Toronto Raptors and the NHL club Toronto Maple Leafs. With the telecommunication companies Bell and Rogers being the major shareholders, MLSE wants to be a big part of the sports landscape in North America and beyond and has identified soccer, in general, and TFC, in particular, as a big part of the process.