The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) announced today that midfielder Benny Feilhaber will join the club from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for $200,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and $200,000 in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
“Benny has enjoyed great success as an incredibly productive midfielder and has won multiple trophies here in MLS,” LAFC General Manager and Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations John Thorrington said. “He has valuable experience and will provide stability and productivity to our midfield.”
Feilhaber, 32, is a seven-year MLS veteran who enjoyed five productive seasons in Kansas City from 2013-2017, winning the 2013 MLS Cup and the 2015 and 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup while also making 44 career appearances for the U.S. National Team.
“Benny and I shared some good days with the U.S. National Team,” LAFC Head Coach Bob Bradley said. “I am excited to work with him again. He has an attacking quality and an excellent understanding of the game. We welcome Benny to LAFC.”
Feilhaber played for Bradley on the U.S. National Team, scoring a spectacular game-winning goal in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. He has also made appearances for the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Feilhaber saw action in three World Cup matches, helping the US win their group.
A 2015 MLS All-Star and finalist for 2015 MLS MVP, Feilhaber has played in 202 career regular season MLS matches (180 starts) with New England and Kansas City, scoring 34 goals and registering 50 assists. Last season, Feilhaber appeared in 30 matches (24 starts), scoring five goals and three assists in 2,269 minutes.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feilhaber was raised in Southern California and starred for Northwood High School in Irvine before walking-on to play two seasons at UCLA. At UCLA, Feilhaber recorded seven goals and four assists in 36 games. Following UCLA, Feilhaber began his professional career in Germany with Hamburger SV in 2006. In 2007, he signed with the English Premier League’s Derby County FC and saw action in 10 games before his final stint abroad in Denmark with AGF Aarhus, where he scored five goals in 54 appearances from 2008-2011.
Feilhaber joined the New England Revolution in 2011 and was acquired by Sporting KC ahead of the 2013 season. The 5-foot-9 midfielder was named Sporting KC’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 after starting 31 of 33 matches and recording eight goals and 14 assists in 2,863 minutes.
Feilhaber joins an LAFC roster that now features Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, Omar Gaber, Walker Zimmerman, Laurent Ciman, Tyler Miller, Latif Blessing, Marco Ureña and Jordan Harvey. LAFC kicks off its historic inaugural season on Sunday, March 4 in Seattle against the Sounders FC, and hosts Seattle in the first game at Banc of California Stadium on April 29.
Feilhaber was acquired in exchange for for $200,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and $200,000 in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). GAM is money that is available to a club in addition to its salary budget. Each MLS club receives an annual allotment of GAM. Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) are funds strategically provided by the league to teams to add or retain players that will make an immediate impact on the field.
TRANSACTION – Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) acquires midfielder Benny Feilhaber from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for $200,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and $200,000 in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
