Colorado Rapids sign Djordje Mihailovic for a club record fee

The Colorado Rapids have officially confirmed the signing of Djordje Mihailovic. The Rapids are paying a record transfer fee of €2.73m.

Mihailovic's European adventure has come to an end after just one year. In January 2023, the USMNT midfielder moved from CF Montréal to AZ Alkmaar for €3m. In the Netherlands, however, he never really got beyond the role of a rotation player. He played 36 games for Alkmaar across all competitions, scoring two goals and providing two assists.

"The main reason it didn't work out was the level of competition," said Transfermarkt Content Manager NL Kevin Lux. "He played as an attacking midfielder, a very demanding position in Dutch football culture. You have to score, pass, create, see the game and so much more. Some of those thing simply weren't Mihailovic' qualities. He had to compete with Dani de Wit and Sven Mijnans who were favorites to play in manager Pascal Jansens vision."

However, there was no shortage of clubs interested in Mihailovic. According to rumors, Los Angeles FC, Portland Timbers, FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls and his former club Chicago Fire were interested in him.