Medunjanin selected by FC Cincinnati in End-of-Year Waiver Draft

Veteran Haris Medunjanin was selected by FC Cincinnati with the first pick in the End-of-Year Waiver Draft on Monday afternoon.

The out-of-contract Philadelphia Union midfielder’s MLS rights now belong to Cincinnati, which can initiate contract negotiations with the 34-year-old.

Medunjanin played every minute of the 2019 season for the Union, leading all MLS players in 2019 in total passes (2,571), total completed passes (2,182), passes in the opponent’s half (1,521) and completed passes in the opponent’s half (1,217) according to Opta.

The Union opted not to negotiate a new deal with him after season’s end.

Sporting Director Ernst Tanner explained the decision not to offer Medunjanin a new deal in a call with reporters last week.

“Haris played probably his best season in 2019,” Tanner said. “It’s always tough when you lose a player like him in terms of the personality he has and so on. But he’s also turning 35 next season and the probability that he is playing the same season is not that high, and in addition, we want to change things here. And if we don’t do it now, we lose one year. And we certainly don’t want to build our future on a player where you know there might be a day coming where you need to take that position.”