Orlando City complete record-breaking signing of Facundo Torres

Orlando City have completed the signing of Uruguayan forward Facundo Torres from Club Atlético Peñarol.

The 21-year-old will arrive in Florida as a Young Designated Player through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026, pending the receipt of his P-1 Visa, international transfer certificate, and successful completion of a medical evaluation.

The Lions are believed to have paid a fee of around $7.5m for Torres, with a further $1.5m to follow if certain performance criteria are met - eclipsing their previous transfer record.

“We’re thrilled to have Facundo join us at Orlando City. He is an exciting player with a bright future,” Orlando City chairman Mark Wilf said in a club release. “We will continue to work with our technical team to bolster the roster and build a championship-caliber team for our Club and community.”

General manager and executive vice president of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi added: “Facundo is a young player with a lot of potential and upside, and he is just beginning to make waves on the international stage,. The danger that he creates on attack will be a real asset on the offensive end and we’re excited for him to step on the field in purple.”

A product of the Peñarol youth system, Torres made 71 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and setting up another 15. He played a key part in Los Carboneros winning the 2021 Uruguayan Primera Division title, even scoring in the championship match.

At international level, Torres already has 10 senior caps to his name for Uruguay, with five each coming in World Cup qualifiers and last year's Copa America - where he contributed one assist to help his nation reach the quarter-finals.

Torres represents Orlando City's first major incoming under the Wilf family and should go a long way to replacing Portuguese winger Nani, who joined Serie A side, Venezia, earlier this month.

The Lions begin their 2022 MLS campaign at home to CF Montreal on February 27.