Gilberto Oliveira Souza Junior, we hardly knew you.
When Toronto FC signed Gilberto to a designated player contract in December of 2013, the overwhelming response from fans and media was, “Who?” Unless you were a hard-core follower of Brazilian football you had no idea who this guy was, or why TFC wanted him.
More than a year has passed since he first put on a Toronto jersey but the stylish and handsome Brazilian, known for his perma-smile and carefree attitude, is beloved by TFC fans. He also won over the beat reporters who cover the team on a regular basis, with the Toronto Sun’s Kurt Larson repeatedly claiming the Brazilian was the “most complete striker in MLS.”
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He scored seven goals in 2014 (good enough for second in team scoring) and added five assists in 28 league games. Not bad numbers, but not great either. He didn’t find the back of the net until the 10th game of the season, and it took another three matches to notch his second goal. But he was a tireless worker, held up the ball well, played teammates into dangerous spaces and had a good touch on the ball. He was an asset.
Things changes quickly in pro sports, though, and Gilberto found himself the odd man out (much like Matias Laba did a year ago) once the Reds signed Sebastian Giovinco this month. With four DPs on the books, Toronto finds itself one over the limit, which means Gilberto, as the last man in, will have to make way.
Toronto could keep him if they used allocation money to pay down his salary to a non-DP level. But the Brazilian earned $1.2 million last season, which means the Reds would have to spend roughly $813,000 of allocation to pay his salary down. It’s very hard to imagine TFC will commit such a large amount of cap space to one player, especially now with Jozy Altidore and Giovinco on the team.
Maybe they can keep him if the new collective bargaining agreement increases the team DP limit to four. But GM Tim Bezbatchenko revealed earlier this week that he doesn’t expect that to happen.
“Unless we hear otherwise we’re planning on only having three DPs,” Bezbatchenko said. “Right now unless things were to change we’d have to be roster compliant. We’d have to move him or one of the other DPs by March 1.”
Gilberto will soon be gone. It’s not a matter of if, but when. If Toronto is going to sell him, it’ll have to move quickly and make a deal before the transfer deadline window closes later this month.
Sources told Sportsnet that several clubs in Brazil are interested in Gilberto and have tabled transfer offers to TFC. If Toronto doesn’t sell him, they could loan him out, or trade him to another MLS team.
Gilberto is currently in his native Brazil, training with Vasco da Gama. Several Brazil media reports claim that a transfer deal between Toronto and Vasco is done. A TFC official told Sportsnet that such reports are “false,” and that he’s only training with Vasco.
But you’d have to think Toronto would do everything they can to sell him before the transfer deadline in order to recoup some of the transfer fee they paid to get him. If TFC can’t, they’ll have roughly a month to move him in order to become roster compliant.
Bezbatchenko isn’t going to play a game of “CBA chicken” and hope that the new labour agreement calls for a fourth DP slot. If Bezbatchenko does and he loses, and a new labour deal is only agreed upon at the last minute, he’ll have painted himself in a very difficult corner and won’t have as many options
One way or another, TFC will move Gilberto. The clock is clicking.
John Molinaro is Sportsnet’s chief soccer reporter. Follow him on Twitter