Auston Trusty deal to Arsenal FC should include return for Philadelphia Union

Media, Pa. native Auston Trusty is heading to Europe in a deal the Colorado Rapids have reached to transfer the 23-year-old defender to fellow Kroenke Sports and Entertainment-owned club Arsenal FC.

As part of the deal, Trusty will be loaned back to the Rapids through July 17 when his European adventure will officially begin.

“Auston’s outstanding performances caught the eye of several European clubs over the past 12 months,” Pádraig Smith, Colorado Rapids Executive VP & General Manager, stated in a news release announcing the deal. “We are privileged to be part of an organization with the reach and scale of KSE that allows us to help a player of Auston’s potential further his development and career aspirations in Europe.”

The Philadelphia Union dealt Trusty to the Rapids in 2019 after they were unable to come to terms on a new agreement.

As part of the deal, the Union receive 25% of the transfer fee “over what the Rapids paid the Union for Trusty,” according to the news release announcing the trade to Colorado on Nov. 20, 2019. “The percentage would only apply to any amount of total allocation money received over what the Rapids paid the Union for Trusty, not the total transaction fee,” according to the release.

The percentage would’ve been 30% for a deal reached prior to December 31, 2021.

Trusty signed with the Union in 2016 and remains the current all-time leader in minutes played for a homegrown in club history with 5,026.