TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Real Salt Lake have signed forward Benji Michel, the club announced Friday.
The former Orlando City SC homegrown standout was a free agent after playing for FC Arouca in Portugal's top flight. He is under contract through 2024 with options for 2025 and 2026.
To complete the deal, RSL acquired Michel's Right of First Refusal from Orlando for their better second-round pick in the 2025 SuperDraft and $50,000 in 2026 conditional General Allocation Money (GAM).
"It’s an honor to join such an amazing organization like RSL," Michel said. "The excitement and the projection this team is on right now makes me want to give it my all for the crest. The culture within the group is just phenomenal."
Michel, 26, was part of Orlando's 2022 squad that won the US Open Cup. The former US youth international tallied 15g/6a in 103 regular-season appearances with Orlando from 2019-22, then scored once in 19 all-competition appearances with Arouca.
Michel joins an RSL attack that's scored a Western Conference-best 49 goals this season, led by Cristian Arango, Diego Luna and Andrés Gómez. The Claret & Cobalt are third in the West with 44 points from 24 matches.
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