Raul Ruidiaz signing could be finalized on Monday, ESPN Deportes says

Raul Ruidiaz’s transfer appears to be all but official, according to a report from ESPN Deportes. The Spanish-language report says Monarcas Morelia will announce the transfer on Monday for a reported fee of about $7.5 million and claims Ruidiaz would be among the top 10 highest paid players in the league. There is no mention of any clause that would allow a European team to swoop in after the World Cup, as previous reports had suggested.

The 10th-highest paid player in MLS as of the latest player union report was Diego Valeri at about $2.4 million. If all these numbers are accurate, the Sounders could be committing more than $16 million to Ruidiaz over the life of this contract. Even allowing for some potential embellishment, Ruidiaz would end up being among 15 to 20 most expensive acquisitions in the Designated Player era of MLS.

This would also seemingly reinforce the reporting of Sounder at Heart’s Niko Moreno, who said the transfer was nearly done as of Saturday.

One bit of caution: The Sounders have no plans to make a major announcement on Monday so we’re unlikely to get any kind of official confirmation immediately.