Unhappy at his contract demands, Toronto FC trades winger Tyrese Spicer to Orlando
The 24-year-old Trinidad and Tobago international, the first overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, scored six goals and added two assists in 42 appearances across all competitions in his two seasons with Toronto.
'We would like to thank Tyrese for his time at the club over the past year and a half,' Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said in a statement. 'As our MLS SuperDraft pick, our intention was to continue working and growing with Tyrese. However, it was communicated that the player only wanted to continue with the club if certain contractual commitments and conditions were secured this summer.
'Unfortunately, the terms proposed were not acceptable to the club at this time; hence, we decided to find a mutually beneficial transaction for all parties involved. We wish Tyrese all the best in his future endeavours, and we will prepare to utilize the assets received in our future roster transactions.'
Spicer is making $83,122 this season, third lowest among TFC players.
His contract expires at the end of the season, although Toronto had club options in 2026 and '27. Faced with a contract impasse, the team opted to get something for him now rather than lose him for nothing.
Toronto gets $225,000 in general allocation money this year and $275,000 in 2026 — with an additional $50,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance-based metrics are met. Toronto will retain a sell-on percentage in the event of a future permanent transfer.
Spicer has won six caps for Trinidad and Tobago, making his senior debut in March in a CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification match against Cuba.
In going to Orlando (11-6-8), Spicer joins a club in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, six places and 20 points ahead of Toronto (5-13-6).
'We're excited to welcome Tyrese to Orlando,' said Ricardo Moreira, Orlando's GM and sporting director. 'He's a hard-working, left-footed talent from the Trinidad and Tobago national team who brings additional depth and energy to our side.
'His relentless work rate and ability to stretch the field will give us a much-needed boost and add another dimension to our attack moving forward.'
Friday's deal was the first for TFC in the MLS secondary transfer window, which opened July 24. More moves are expected.
At his best, Spicer was a pacy winger able to cause headaches for opposition defenders.
He made his TFC debut off the bench in a 2-1 loss at New York City FC in March 2024. A week later, he scored 35 minutes into his first start, a 2-0 win over Atlanta United at BMO Field. Cutting off the left wing, Spicer drifted towards the penalty box and, taking a pass from Deandre Kerr, accelerated past a defender and beat Brad Guzan with a low shot to the corner.
Unable to secure regular playing time, Spicer was an on-and-off presence, however. His 21 league appearances this season included only seven starts. Last season, he started 13 games with six more appearances off the bench.
As a rookie, he was slowed by a sore big toe, the legacy of a small fracture suffered at Lipscomb, forcing him to see a specialist.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
Spicer was a surprise first overall pick out of Lipscomb University, somewhat of an unknown despite impressive college statistics.
In his final year at Lipscomb, Spicer was a United Soccer Coaches first-team all-American, the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year and a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
He led the ASUN with 14 goals and added three assists for a conference-leading 31 points. He had 29 goals and 18 assists in 57 career appearances for Lipscomb, which is based in Nashville.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
12 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Defending champion Popyrin falls in NBO quarterfinals
Alexander Zverev has a semifinal spot at the National Bank Open, and he bested last year's winner in the process. The top seed at the Canadian men's tennis championship rallied to defeat No. 18 Alexei Popyrin of Australia 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 on Monday evening at Sobeys Stadium. Currently third in the ATP Tour's rankings, the German will take on either No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia or No. 26 Alex Michelsen of the United States on Wednesday. Khachanov and Michelsen played the late quarterfinal on the campus of York University in hazy northwest Toronto. Tuesday's schedule at the NBO features a pair of American favourites. Second-seed Taylor Fritz will take on No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarters, while No. 4 Ben Shelton is slated to meet No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia. Both semifinals go Wednesday ahead of Thursday's title match. Popyrin took a knife-edged first set in a tiebreak when his gentle backhand shot after a long rally grazed the top of the net and dropped for the winning point — much to the delight of his fans, including one with an inflatable yellow kangaroo. Zverev, meanwhile, responded by immediately firing a ball completely out of Sobeys Stadium in frustration. Looking for his 25th tournament victory and eighth ATP 1000 Masters triumph, he responded by going up 2-0 in the second set. Popyrin grabbed a break of his own before holding serve at 4-4. Zverev, who won the Canadian title in Montreal eight years ago when he defeated childhood idol Roger Federer, took a 5-4 lead and then again broke his opponent to even the match. Ousted at the quarterfinal stage of last year's tournament, Zverev got another break to go up 2-0 in the third set before serving out the match. The 28-year-old, who lost to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at this year's Australian Open and made the French Open quarters, improved to 4-0 all-time against Popyrin, including a third-round victory at the Paris Olympics. Zverev has two tournament wins on clay this year, and is the highest-ranked player competing in a Toronto field lacking some significant star power after Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic all skipped the US$9.19-million hardcourt event. The 25-year-old Popyrin — ranked No. 26 in the world — beat Rublev some 12 months ago in Montreal to claim his third tournament win, but saw a nine-match winning run in Canada come to an end Monday.
CBC
43 minutes ago
- CBC
Canada's Victoria Mboko advances to NBO semifinals in Montreal
Victoria Mboko keeps on rising. Two days after dispatching No. 1 seed Coco Gauff, the Canadian teenage tennis sensation booked her place in the National Bank Open semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in women's singles action Monday night. Mboko upset Gauff in straight sets Saturday, winning the lopsided match in just 62 minutes. There was no letdown Monday, even if Mboko fought a little harder to pull out the victory. After taking a back-and-forth — and error-filled — first set, Mboko lost on serve in a sluggish start to the second set but broke back in the fourth and sixth games to take a 4-2 advantage. The 18-year-old from Toronto held serve and broke once more, with Bouzas Maneiro's backhand sailing long on match point to lift the fans out of their seats after 77 minutes. Mboko is the first Canadian to reach the WTA 1000 event's semifinals since Bianca Andreescu's title run in 2019. She's also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic's 2015 win in Toronto. Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 51st, was also playing in the quarterfinals of a 1000-level tournament for the first time. In a breakthrough year, Mboko has surged from outside the top 300 to a career-high No. 85 in the world rankings. That number is projected to climb to at least No. 55, according to WTA live rankings. The last Canadian remaining in singles, Mboko has made a name for herself at home, her powerful ball-striking on full display in her first National Bank Open main draw. She will meet Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in Wednesday's semifinals. The ninth-seeded Rybakina advanced after Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was forced to retire with an apparent arm injury while trailing 6-1, 2-1 earlier Monday night. After two injury-plagued years, Mboko — who had shown promise as a junior — opened the season with a 22-match win streak and captured five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour. She then qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open, reaching the third round, before stunning 25th seed Magdalena Frech in the first round at Wimbledon. And the upsets keep coming. In Montreal, Mboko has rattled off wins over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, 23rd seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova and Gauff, the world No. 2. Her latest victory boosts her record to 25-8 against higher-ranked players and 51-9 in all competitions. Buzzing in anticipation, the crowd rose to its feet for loud applause the moment Mboko emerged from the tunnel before the match. Neither player appeared to be dialled in during the first set, firing shots long and wide and wasting opportunities to break early. At 2-2, Mboko fell in a 40-15 hole, but ultimately took the prolonged game thanks to five service winners, regularly opening points with 180 km/h strikes. The Canadian then went up 40-0 with three chances to break before a series of errors — including a few mishits on her backhand — helped Bouzas Maneiro hold. Mboko retook a 40-0 advantage for three breakpoint opportunities while leading 4-3. This time, Bouzas Maneiro fired her shot into the net. Bouzas Maneiro broke back after Mboko made three unforced errors and double-faulted.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Source: Toronto FC close to acquiring playmaker Djordje Mihailovic from Colorado
TORONTO – Toronto FC is close to acquiring attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic from the Colorado Rapids in a cash deal, according to a source. The transfer is not yet finalized, according to the source granted anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the negotiations. TFC, without a designated player since buying out the contracts of Italians Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi in early July, has been looking for some star power. And Toronto, which sits 12th in the Eastern Conference at 5-13-6, needs help in attack. With 25 goals in 24 games, it ranks 26th in the league on offence. Canadian international Theo Corbeanu leads the team with five goals while Honduran Deybi Flores, a defensive-minded midfielder, tops the team with two assists. The 26-year-old Mihailovic has nine goals and seven assists in 24 regular-season outings for Colorado this season. He is making $1.775 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) with the Rapids this season, a bargain compared to the $15.4 million Toronto was paying Insigne and the $6.295 million Bernardeschi was earning. Toronto marks the fifth career team for Mihailovic and his second in Canada. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. He spent the 2021 and '22 seasons with CF Montreal, playing 61 regular-season games, including 57 starts. In 2021, he recorded 16 assists, erasing the previous club record of 13 set by Ignacio Piatti in 2018. Montreal had acquired Mihailovic from the Chicago Fire in exchange for $800,000 in general allocation money. Signed as a homegrown player from the Fire academy in January 2017, he played 73 regular-season games for the Fire, including 45 starts, with seven goals and 15 assists. After the 2022 MLS season, Mihailovic joined AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands. He had two goals and two assists in 36 appearances across all competitions for the Dutch side before leaving to join Colorado in January 2024, signing on as a designated player on a four-year contract through 2027 with a club option through 2028. Mihailovic has one goal in 11 appearances for the U.S., scoring against Panama in a January 2019 friendly. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2025.
