FC Cincinnati’s season ended Nov. 23, nine months after its first game that counted, in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Because the Major League Soccer season lasts so long, the offseason is fast and furious, and the club will soon be making decisions about who to retain for 2026 and who to say goodbye to as Cincinnati looks for new players to join the team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCincinnati will lose at least one player to retirement, goalkeeper Alec Kann, who announced that decision last month. The club has 14 players whose contracts expire at the end of 2025 when the team lost to Inter Miami CF in the MLS playoffs. Most of them have options in their contracts for future seasons.
Goalkeeper Alec Kann announced he will retire after this season.The biggest decisions involve defender Matt Miazga and striker Brenner.
Miazga signed a four-year contract in 2022, which expires at the end of this year and has an option for 2026.
Brenner scored six goals in 10 games after returning to Cincinnati this summer on loan from Italian premier league club Udinese. Cincinnati signed defender Miles Robinson to a contract extension this year that likely makes him the highest-paid defender in MLS and will make the maximum allowed third Designated Player to Evander and Kevin Denkey, who are under contract for next season. If Brenner stays with Cincinnati next year, he can’t be a DP. He made $280,000 this season according to the MLS players association.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBased on information released by MLS in September, here is a list of the players who are under contract for 2026 or beyond, and the ones whose contracts have expired.
Which FC Cincinnati players are on contract for 2026?
Alvaro Barreal (out on loan this year)
Pavel Bucha
Roman Celentano
Stefan Chirila
Kevin Denkey
Evander
Ender Echenique
Gilberto Flores
Samuel Gidi
Nick Hagglund
Obinna Nwobodo
Luca Orellano
Miles Robinson
Gerardo Valenzuela
Paul Walters
Which FC Cincinnati players’ contracts expire after the 2025 season?
Tah Brian Anunga
Brenner (on loan)
Lukas Engel
Teenage Hadebe
Ayoub Jabbari (on loan)
Stiven Jiminez
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKei Kamara
Alec Kann (will retire)
Yuya Kubo
Evan Louro
Dominic Marczuk (on loan)
Kenji Mboma Dem
Matt Miazga
Alvas Powell
Brad Smith
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is under contract on FC Cincinnati for the 2026 MLS soccer season?
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