COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Crew on Wednesday announced the acquisition of winger/forward Diego Rossi from Fenerbahçe S.K. of the Turkish Süper Lig on a permanent transfer.
This move, which was made official just before the closure of Major League Soccer's secondary transfer window, comes days after the Crew announced the departure of star midfielder Lucas Zelarayán to Al Fateh of the Saudi Pro League. Losing the dynamic 31-year-old Zelarayán opened up a Designated Player spot, which Rossi will now occupy.
The transfer fee paid by the Crew to Fenerbahçe was not disclosed, just as the fee received from Al Fateh for Zelarayán went undisclosed. As for Rossi's contract with the Crew, it will run through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027.
Rossi, 25, is a Uruguayan international who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, the position Zelarayán vacated. He is no stranger to MLS. From 2018 into 2022, Rossi starred for Los Angeles FC, making 104 regular-season appearances and scoring 48 goals. He was a Young Designated Player for LAFC, scoring the first goal in the history of that franchise. He was a major contributor to LAFC's 2019 Supporters Shield squad. The following season, he became the youngest player in league history to earn the Golden Boot given to the player who scores the most goals.
That year, he also was named MLS Young Player of the Year and was named in the MLS Best XI. In addition, he earned the MLS is Back Tournament Golden Boot, was named MLS is Back Young Player of the Tournament and made the MLS is Back Tournament Best XI. He was also honored with the 2021 ESPY Award for Best MLS Player.
Rossi, an MLS All-Star in both 2019 and 2021, will be added to the Crew's roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.
"Diego is a winner and an exciting, skillful player, and we are excited to welcome him to the Crew," President and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. "He has a natural ability to score and create goals, and he has further demonstrated his exceptional quality over the past few seasons while competing in Europe. Diego is a great addition to our dynamic attack, and as importantly, he is a true fit for our Club's desired culture and style of play."
Bezbatchenko thanked ownership "for their ongoing support ... to acquire a player of Diego's caliber."
"We are proud that Diego has chosen Columbus, and we look forward to him contributing to our team at a high level as we work to win more trophies for our city," Bezbatchenko added.
Rossi was initially loaned out by LAFC to Fenerbahçe in 2021, but the loan included an option to buy, which Fenerbahçe used to sign him permanently in 2022 following an impressive string of performances during the loan period.
In all, he appeared in 64 total league matches (41 starts) for Fenerbahçe, finding the back of the net 10 times. He also played in UEFA Champions League Qualifying matches, Europa League Qualifying matches and in the Europa League. His side captured the Turkish Cup in 2023.
Like Zelarayán, Rossi is of Armenian heritage. Unlike Zelarayán, however, he rejected requests to represent Armenia internationally, instead choosing to represent his home country by playing for the Uruguay national team.
Roughly two hours before the official announcement, the club hinted at the Rossi transfer by posting "Algo viene ⏳" on social media. Translated to English, that means "something is coming." The image included the Crew logo along with the Sun of May emblem. The Sun of May, of course, is a national symbol of Uruguay that appears on the country's flag.
