(Mike Lawrence – Sportsday Wire)
New York City Football Club announced on Friday who will be returning for the 2016 season and that they have exercised the contract options of 10 players and declined the options on four.
Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, and David Villa will be returning next season. The other players that are already under contract for 2016: Mix Diskerud, Andoni Iraola, Chris Wingert, Jason Hernandez, Jefferson Mena, Andrew Jacobson.
NYC FC picked up the options on Josh Saunders, Eirik Johansen, RJ Allen, Connor Brandt, Mehdi Ballouchy, Kwadwo Poku, Tommy McNamara, Tony Taylor, Khiry Shelton, and Patrick Mullins.
NYC FC decline their 2016 options on Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Jeb Brovsky, Pedro Alvarez, and Ned Grabavoy.
Grabavoy is eligible for free agency and Watson-Siriboe and Brovsky will be eligible to participate in the MLS Re-Entry Process.
Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said of the departing players in a statement, “We’d like to sincerely thank those players for their contributions for the club’s inaugural season. We wish them the very best of luck in the future.”
NYC FC will be playing an exhibition against the Puerto Rican national team in Puerto Rico at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon on December 11.
They will be bringing the full roster and a couple of players they have on a trial basis, “Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Andre Rawls.