Emanuel Reynoso absent from Minnesota United again after green card issue

For Minnesota United, it’s “here we go again” with Emanuel Reynoso.

For the third time in less than two seasons, the team’s star attacking midfielder is unexpectedly away from the team in Argentina, with no return date in sight.

Khaled El-Ahmad, MNUFC’s chief soccer officer and sporting director, issued a statement Tuesday: “Emanuel Reynoso did not attend his recent green card appointment, and he remains in Argentina. We do not have an updated timeline for his return and have no additional comment at this time. Our entire focus is on the players and staff who are here.”

Reynoso left the team during the late-March break in their schedule, ostensibly to return to Argentina and complete the process of getting his green card. Doing so would allow Minnesota to count him as a domestic player, opening a valuable international roster spot.

The midfielder played his first game of the season March 16 against LAFC, after returning from a preseason knee injury. His appointment was set for March 25, allowing him plenty of time to get back to the United States before the Loons game against Philadelphia on March 30th.

Instead, he’s still out of the country — just like the 2023 offseason, when he didn’t return to Minnesota until mid-May and didn’t play until June.

The same thing happened at the beginning of this year’s preseason, when he was again late returning to the squad, provoking another furious round of speculation among Loons fans — though that time, he returned after just a week missing.

It’s the tersest statement yet from the Loons regarding their star player. During his previous absences, official team communication rarely highlighted anything negative about Reynoso, and certainly did not call him out for missing an appointment.

What may ring the loudest in the three-line statement, in terms of how the team is viewing this absence, is the final line: “Our entire focus is on the players and staff who are here.”