Real Salt Lake has acquired longtime U.S. national team right back DeAndre Yedlin in a trade with FC Cincinnati.
Cincinnati received $304,700 in general allocation money in the deal announced on Thursday.
The 32-year-old defender is a three-time Major League Soccer All-Star. He came to Cincinnati in March 2024 in a trade with Inter Miami and played in 67 games across all competitions, with a goal and eight assists.
Yedlin's career started with the Seattle Sounders in 2013 before he went to Europe, spending time with Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Newcastle and Galatasaray in Turkey. He returned to the United States to play for Miami in 2022.
“Beyond his skill on the field, his leadership and professionalism will strengthen our locker room and help set the tone," RSL chief soccer officer Kurt Schmid said in a statement. "We believe DeAndre’s impact will be felt immediately, and we’re excited about the role he will play in driving our success now and into the future.”
Yedlin thanked Cincinnati fans in a social media post.
“On the pitch I’ve been pushed and inspired in ways that made me better. Off the pitch I’ve built friendships and connections that’ll last way past football. For that I’m grateful,” he wrote. “It’s never easy to say goodbye but that’s the game. What I’ll carry with me are the memories, the support, and the feeling of being part of something bigger.”
Yedlin, a Seattle native, has played in 81 games with the U.S. national team and was on the 2014 and 2022 World Cup squads.
Real Salt Lake is 9-13-4 this season and sits in 10th place in the Western Conference, just below the playoff line.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - FC Cincinnati's DeAndre Yedlin, right, dribbles ahead of Inter Miami's Telasco Segovia during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran's World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition.
The team will still play its matches in the U.S. but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, according to Iran's soccer federation. The development comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28.
Sheinbaum said at a news conference Monday that she was told by a FIFA representative the U.S. was reluctant to have the Iranian soccer team spend time outside the games on U.S. territory.
“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” Sheinbaum told reporters. She said a FIFA representative had then asked, “Can they stay overnight in Mexico?”
“And we said, ‘Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that',” she said.
Iran's soccer team is slated to play matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and against Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
Before the war broke out, the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona. But with tensions simmering, Iran's team moved its base to Tijuana in Mexico, Sheinbaum said, confirming an announcement by the Iranian federation over the weekend. The federation said the Iranians had received approval from FIFA, though it has not confirmed the move.
Teams use base camps to train before and after matches. This year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The possibility of a move had simmered for months in the uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. U.S. sanctions on Iran were likely to only make the team’s stay in the U.S. more complex.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday that President Donald Trump had made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate in the tournament.
The department’s statement did not address where the team might stay, or Sheinbaum's comments.
Sheinbaum said that her government was working with FIFA to hash out all the details before the competition.
Iran's national soccer team players stand onstage as they are greeted by a crowd during a pro-government gathering before their departure for training and friendly matches in Turkey ahead of the World Cup at Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
