Christian Ramirez has been the poster-boy of Minnesota United since he scored in his debut for the club in 2014. As the club begins its transition to MLS, time is running out for negotiations to secure his future in Minnesota.
It was never going to be a simple negotiation between club and player.
At 25, Minnesota United striker Christian Ramirez is coming off another career season, scoring 18 goals in NASL league play while securing the league’s Golden Boot for the second time in three seasons (he came in second the year he didn’t win). Across 90 matches since joining United in 2014, Ramirez has scored 51 goals, making him the most efficient scorer in modern NASL history and simultaneously one of the two most prominent players in Minnesota’s recent club history (alongside winger Miguel Ibarra).
In 2015, Minnesota United sold Ibarra to Liga MX side Club Leon for a transfer fee which is believed to be around $1,000,000. Now, they have to make a decision about their talented young striker.
Grass Always Greener
When Ramirez spoke about his impending contract expiry in June, he made it clear that it wasn’t on the forefront of his mind. “I don’t put too much thought into it,” Ramirez affirmed at the time. “I know that I’m here this year… (W)hatever comes next will follow that. Whether that’s MLS in Minnesota or playing abroad or even staying in this league, I’m keeping an open mind.”
But now that the season is over, his future will almost certainly be on his mind. The club has already signed veterans Justin Davis and Kevin Venegas to MLS contracts and negotiations are beginning for other players. Ramirez did not want to comment for this story, but sources have verified that he has been negotiating with the club off and on for some time now.
When the Loons locked down full backs Justin Davis and Kevin Venegas, there was a lingering question among fans: “Where’s Christian?” It’s believed that Minnesota United and Ramirez still have a gulf between their offer and his requests, with the striker reportedly looking to be paid as an established player, rather than a young striker with something to prove. It’s also believed that Ramirez was earning less than $100k each season he was in NASL, adding to a notion of a player wanting to earn what he’s worth.
Established strikers in MLS tend to make salaries between $250k-$300k. Columbus’ Ola Kamara, coming from the Austrian Bundesliga, earns $425k a year. Houston’s Will Bruin, an MLS veteran who has scored 50 goals across 6 full seasons (and just 4 in 31 matches this season) makes $310k. Philadelphia’s C.J. Sapong, a six-year veteran who’s never scored more than 9 goals in a single season, earns $225k.
Like Ibarra in 2015, Ramirez may have had a summer offer to consider. Sources have revealed at least one offer came in for the striker this past summer from “a prominent Liga MX club” which would have more than tripled Ramirez’s NASL salary. It’s believed that Minnesota rejected this transfer offer. Even before the previous summer window, clubs from Mexico and MLS have made offers, which Ramirez has turned down to solidify a place in Minnesota. As United signs their players to 12-month contracts, he’s guaranteed a salary through the end of November.
Working on a Deadline
As the 2016 season wore on, the notion of “who do you take from NASL?” was a staple of debates between United fans at bars, matches, and in online forums. It’s believed that Minnesota United has until November 30 to finalize contracts with their NASL players. This gives the club three more weeks to finalize deals with players like Ramirez, and the club is far from his only suitor.
There are still multiple clubs that are courting Ramirez. From my sources, Ibarra’s Club Leon is not one of those clubs. However, it’s believed that Santos Laguna is making a run for his services. Beyond that, there’s a pull from teams outside of Minnesota in MLS, whispers of a record-breaking salary from high-spending NASL clubs (this is most likely a pipe dream), as well as interest from clubs in his father’s home-nation: Colombia.
Taking Care of the Family
For Ramirez, there’s more to this than being paid what he’s due on the field. Ramirez comes from a family of six. As he explained to Wes Burdine for the 2015 Complete Darkness, the family lives in a small apartment:
“[Ramirez’s] family of six live in a low-income apartment with two bedrooms. When he comes home to visit, Christian either stays with a friend or on the couch. “Imagine it’s four of us, plus my parents,” he says. His father works third shift at a munitions factory. “That’s a big reason that I want to earn a contract where I can start helping my dad pay for a house. For him one day to change shifts at work, that would be the dream.”
This is where the stalemate becomes about more than just soccer. On one side, there’s a club looking at a player who hasn’t played in a first-tier league in his career. Despite his prolific scoring in the second-tier, there’s a shade of risk that comes with giving a larger salary to an unproven player.
On the other side, there’s a player who’s been the best player in a club’s six-year history, who has earned praise from Klinsmann on Twitter, and is looking to better not just his own life, but the lives of his family. After three years of establishing himself, this is the biggest negotiation of his young career thus far. Simultaneously, it’s the single biggest decision that Minnesota United will make going into their inaugural MLS season.
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