Union Español sign Nashville SC attacker Rodrigo Piñeiro on loan

Chilean Football team Union Español announce the signing of Nashville SC attacker Rodrigo Piñeiro for the 2022 season. The 22-year-old heads to the Chilean Primera División side on a season-long loan.

The player first joined Nashville in 2021, transferring from Uruguay First Division team Danubio FC. He is signed to the Major League Soccer club through the 2023 season as part of the U22 Initiative. 

The Uruguayan youth international was limited to just 10 minutes in a pair of substitute appearances with Nashville in 2021, failing to appear in any of the club’s final 27 matches.

Piñeiro’s departure is the latest move in a busy offseason for Nashville. The Eastern Conference club also declined a contract option on Designated Player forward Jhonder Cádiz, signed midfielder Sean Davis in free agency and traded defender Alistair Johnston to CF Montréal. The club also traded away four international spots for $250,000 of General Allocation Money (GAM) each, acquiring a total of $1 million in allocation money.

Integral players Dax McCarty, Aníbal Godoy, Randall Leal and Dan Lovitz all signed new contracts to kick off the offseason. 

Nashville ended the 2021 campaign in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, with 54 points in 34 games and a record of 12-18-4. The team managed to reach the Major League Soccer Cup conference final before ultimately losing 2-0 to the Columbus Crew. 

The team is set to kick off the 2022 campaign on February 27 by visiting the Seattle Sounders.