Orlando City SC Sell Antonio Carlos To Fluminense

Orlando City SC have sold centerback Antonio Carlos to Brazilian club Fluminense. The 30 year old defender joined Orlando City prior to the 2020 MLS season on a loan deal from Palmeiras. After a strong 2020 campaign, Carlos was permanently bought from Palmeiras ahead of the 2021 season. Carlos helped Orlando City win the club’s first ever trophy in 2022 with their U.S. Open Cup victory. After 106 games played for Orlando City, including 4 goals and 3 assists, Antonio Carlos will go down as one of the best defenders to represent the Lions. He now heads back to Brazil where he won a Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Serie A title in his career. 

Where does this leave Orlando City? Orlando City still has one of the best centerbacks in Major League Soccer on their roster, Robin Jansson. Jansson’s defensive abilities as well as his passing still make him one of the most effective players in the league. Pairing with Jansson is most likely going to be 2023 starter Rodrigio Schlegel. Though Schlegel didn’t have the best 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, he still is a very talented defender. You can get better than him in this league, but you can get much worse as well. If I am building a MLS Cup caliber roster, I’d prefer to have Schlegel as my 3rd best centerback, but I won’t split hairs here. The rest of the centerback depth falls on youngsters Thomas Williams, Abdi Salim, and veteran Kyle Smith who can play anywhere along the backline. Ideally if I am an Orlando City fan, I am hoping that the front office can sign an Antonio Carlos level centerback to start over Schlegel. But, if Schlegel is one of my starting centerbacks in 2024, I wouldn’t be too upset as long as another strong centerback is on the roster next year.