NYCFC news roundup: Luis Barraza's trade and the MLS Cup

New York City FC has started to make moves in the offseason. Rio Hope-Gund is the one player who will not be back thus far and more should follow in the coming months. Nick Cushing is no longer the head coach and the club is searching for a new leader. More importantly, the team broke ground on Etihad Park.

There is so much going on and it is only December. Fans have a lot to look forward to before the 2025 season begins and it will likely remain busy until Opening Day. Therefore, let's take a look at the next NYCFC news roundup.

NYCFC news roundup: Luis Barraza and more

Reports say Luis Barraza has been traded

When NYCFC released the end-of-the-season roster decisions last week, many were puzzled why the three goalkeepers who had options for 2025 saw them picked up. It does not make sense why the team would retain four keepers for another season.

But there may be an answer: money. According to Tom Bogert, Luis Barraza is being traded to D.C. United. NYCFC will receive at least $50,000 in general allocation money. In other words, the Pigeons picked up his option to make some money. If they did not pick up the option, then the 2024 backup goalkeeper would have technically walked away on a free regardless of his route of finding a new club. Major League Soccer has weird free agency rules, so Barraza could have seen himself in the re-entry draft.

Nevertheless, this illuminates NYCFC's intelligence in picking up the goalkeeper's option. One should expect the news to be confirmed soon.

NYCFC is still ahead of RBNY based on the MLS Cup

On Saturday, the New York Red Bulls played the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup Finals. The red team attempted to complete their Cinderella run with the trophy, but lost 2-1 to the California side.

As a result of the loss, NYCFC still remains the only New York-New Jersey area MLS team to have won the MLS Cup. Notably, RBNY has been around since the league was founded while the Pigeons have only played since 2015. The Boys in Blue also were away on the West Coast for their Championship and actually won.

Thankfully, this means supporters can still argue they are better because NYCFC has won the MLS Cup while the Red Bulls have failed to do so. Oh, and shout out to the club's social media team for having some fun once LA won.

New York City still belongs to NYCFC and New York is forever blue.