Colorado Rapids sign Felipe Gutierrez on loan from Chilean team C.D. Universidad Catolica

The Colorado Rapids have signed former Sporting Kansas City player Felipe Gutiérrez from Chilean first-division side C.D. Universidad Católica on loan for the remainder of the 2022 Major League Soccer season.

The Rapids will pay $50,000 in 2022 General Allocation Money to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for Gutiérrez's MLS priority.

"Felipe is an experienced player at the highest levels of the game and brings additional quality and depth to the club at a key juncture in the season," said Pádraig Smith, Colorado's executive vice president and general manager, in a statement.

"His ability to dictate tempo and control games, along with his familiarity with MLS, will be an asset as we continue our push to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season."

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Gutiérrez joins after spending the last two seasons with C.D. Universidad Católica, his second stint with the team after making his debut in 2009. Overall, he managed 27 goals and 26 assists in 134 appearances. The midfielder has also seen time with Sporting Kansas City, FC Twente in Holland's Eredivisie, La Liga’s Real Betis and Internacional in Brazil's Serie A.

He first signed for an MLS side in 2018, joining Sporting KC as a Designated Player and recording 19 goals and five assists in 52 games. He earned the team's MVP title in 2019, before sitting out the 2020 season when undergoing surgery to repair a cartilage defect in his knee.

But now he’s back to help the Colorado Rapids in their fight to climb the Western Conference table. The team currently sits in 10th with 27 points in 22 games, just three slots away from an MLS playoff place. 

With 12 games left to be played, the team may just turn things around in time to qualify for the postseason.