Kevin Molino, who played the past four years for Minnesota United and helped the team to a strong playoff push last season, signed with MLS champion Columbus as a free agent Thursday.
Former Loons midfielder Kevin Molino signs with MLS champion Columbus
The 30-year-old helped Minnesota to the league semifinals before a loss in Seattle.
January 7, 2021 at 9:13PM
The 30-year-old midfielder had nine goals during the regular season and four in three playoff games as the Loons advanced to the semifinals before losing in Seattle.
"Kevin Molino has been one of the most talented and explosive wingers in Major League Soccer, and he proved that not only throughout the 2020 regular season, but most recently when it mattered most, in the playoffs, on a team that was minutes away from an MLS Cup final," Crew president and GM Tim Bezbatchenko said in a club statement.
Molino has 32 goals and 27 assists in 104 MLS games with Minnesota and Orlando City. He has missed time because of knee surgeries in 2015 and 2018. He also has 20 goals in 48 games for Trinidad and Tobago's national team.
When he became a free agent in December, Molino posted on his Instagram account, "Goodbye Minnesota. To everyone at Minnesota United … the owners, management, coaches, backroom staff, office staff, the ball boys, the fans and most of all my teammates … from my heart to yours. Thank you for embracing me and showing me all the love and support for the last four years of my life."
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
