NYCFC are delighted to announce the signing of Rodney Wallace.
The Costa Rican international joins as a free agent from Sport Recife in Brazil.
NYCFC have traded $75k GAM and $50k TAM to Portland Timbers in exchange for the Right of First Refusal for the 2015 MLS Cup champion.
Wallace told NYCFC.com: “It’s a great honor to be an NYCFC player – it’s a dream come true to get this done and be here with such a great organization and a good team.
“I’ve watched a lot of the NYCFC games since the team came to the league and I was attracted to the style of play.
“I want to win trophies with this club, I want to come here and add to a bigger piece. We all want to achieve big things together and I’m just really happy to be here and to work towards that.
“I’m looking forward to playing in front of our fans, I’m going to give it 100% and work hard to compete for trophies and hopefully we can celebrate together at the end of the year.”
Head Coach Patrick Vieira believes that NYCFC have landed one of Major League Soccer’s very best players.
Vieira said: “Rodney is a quality player who can play as a winger, as a left-back or as a left midfielder.
“He’s really good with the ball and he knows how to win the championship as he did it with Portland.
“He will bring his experience to this squad which is great for us – I’m really looking forward to him coming because I believe that he’s one of the top players in this league.”
Sporting Director Claudio Reyna feels that Rodney’s move to the club could see him being recalled to the Costa Rican national team.
Reyna added: “Rodney is a great addition to the squad – he’s a competitor that will bring a winning mentality to our club.
“He is a player that will add depth to our squad, both as a left winger and left-back. He’s an international player with Costa Rica, he knows the league and won MLS Cup, but most important for us, is his desire to want to come to our club.
“We’re really excited to have him – at 28, he’s coming into the prime of his career and we think playing with us will get him back into his national team.”
Wallace was an instrumental member of Portland’s championship-winning side in 2015, featuring in 32 Regular Season games and starting in all five Playoff matches, completing a total of eight assists in an incredible year which he capped with the winning goal in the MLS Cup final against Columbus.
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wallace moved to the United States at the age of nine, growing up in Maryland and representing the Maryland Terrapins in his youth career.
A Generation adidas player, Rodney was drafted by DC United in the first round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft where he would go on to make 39 appearances in two seasons before he swapped clubs with Dax McCarty and joined Portland Timbers in 2011.
He represented Portland on 120 occasions in his four years at Providence Park before signing for Portuguese outfit FC Arouca as an MLS Cup champion in January 2016.
Following two months in Portugal, he signed for Sport Recife in March 2016 where he made 24 appearances, scoring four goals.
An international teammate of Ronald Matarrita, Wallace has earned 17 caps to date since his Costa Rica debut, with his last appearance coming in the 4-0 win over the United States in November 2016.
Rodney will now join NYCFC’s preseason training camp in Tucson, Arizona.
