Roster moves from around the league were announced on Monday, and it looks like there will be a little extra helping of joy for NYCFC supporters come the 2018 season.
Glenn also wrote up a column over at SBI Soccer about the rest of NYCFC's comings and goings, shedding a little bit of light on what steps City might take towards building out their roster for next year.
"On Monday, NYCFC said farewell to 11 players whose contracts were not exercised," Glenn writes. "With the retirement of Designated Player, Andrea Pirlo, the team from the Bronx will fortify with large numbers again in the quest for a third consecutive post-season birth."
As Glenn also notes, last season's moves ended up working out pretty well, too:
"After evaluating his first season at New York City FC, head coach Patrick Vieira elected to introduce 12 new faces to his program in 2017. Six fresh members in the starting XI and a deeper bench helped NYCFC to the second best regular season record in Major League Soccer."
Elsewhere, it appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That's right, folks: there's another David Villa highlight reel up over on ESPN FC UK Edition.
Head on over and check that out for an early holiday season treat. We really just can't get enough of it.
The best part about all of this is that now, you don't just get to watch David Villa—you get to BE David Villa:
Smash that download button and see how many goals you can score in the streets of Barcelona, Madrid, and New York City. Villa's numbers are going to be tough to beat, but it's about the journey, not the destination.
Finally, MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the four finalists for the next two MLS expansion clubs this morning.
Cincinnati, Nashville, Detroit, and Sacramento are all in contention for an MLS franchise, and their respective ownership groups will present their plans to the league's Expansion Committee on December 6th.
Garber explained in a league statement, "The leaders of the Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento MLS expansion ownership groups have bold visions and innovative plans for their clubs, stadiums and their involvement in their respective communities.
"We are pleased these highly-respected business and sports leaders have been so determined to bring Major League Soccer to their cities. We have been greatly encouraged by the progress that all four of these groups have made and we are looking forward to their presentations."
