Rafael Navarro to St. Louis City
MLS-record $12m deal

1. 2 Sept
   Move announced

   Colorado Rapids and St. Louis City confirmed a club-record $12m cash trade sending Rafael Navarro to St. Louis.

St. Louis City have completed a club-record $12m trade for Colorado Rapids striker Rafael Navarro, handing the Brazilian a four-year Designated Player contract in the biggest cash deal in MLS history.

St. Louis City SC have signed striker Rafael Navarro from Colorado Rapids in a trade worth $12 million in cash, plus up to $250,000 in performance-related add-ons. The deal, confirmed by both clubs on 2 September, is understood to be the largest cash transfer between two teams in MLS history. Navarro has signed a four-year contract with St. Louis as a Designated Player, running through the 2029-30 season with a club option for 2030-31. Colorado have retained a sell-on percentage as part of the agreement.

St. Louis moved for Navarro because they needed goals. Sporting director Corey Wray said the club see the 26-year-old as "not only a proven goalscorer in this league, but a player who brings so much through his work-ethic, pressing and link-up play," while general manager Diego Gigliani called the fee "a significant investment" that shows the ownership group's ambition. Navarro's goal return this season is higher than St. Louis's two leading scorers combined, and the club clearly wanted a ready-made focal point up front rather than developing one internally.

For Colorado, it is a big loss. Navarro arrived on loan from Palmeiras in 2023, was signed permanently in 2024, and has scored 38 goals in 97 league appearances for the Rapids — reaching double figures in each of his three full seasons there. Head coach Matt Wells praised his mentality, saying it ranks "right up there with every one" of the top players he has worked with. Reporting around the move suggests contract extension talks between Navarro and Colorado had stalled, with the club wary of committing to a longer, higher-value deal, which opened the door to a sale. Colorado can also convert a portion of the fee into allocation money to spend on other signings.

Navarro's form made him an obvious target. He had scored 10 goals and added four assists in 22 MLS appearances for Colorado this season, form good enough to tie for 20th among the league's scorers. He played his final game for the Rapids on 29 August in a Rocky Mountain Cup win, staying out on the pitch with supporters afterwards in what was clearly an emotional farewell.

At St. Louis, Navarro is expected to walk straight into the starting eleven as the club's central striker. The move also has a direct impact in the Western Conference table: St. Louis sit sixth on 34 points, one place and three points above the Colorado side they have just strengthened against. Adding a proven scorer of Navarro's output going into the closing weeks of the season gives St. Louis a clearer route to goals than they have had for most of the year, while Colorado now have to find that output from elsewhere.

• Announced by the clubs100

A sourcing score, not a chance of completion: it grades how solid the reporting behind the move is. The stage and the evidence come from the sources listed below; the arithmetic is fixed in code, the same for every deal.

• Official: Colorado Rapids Trade Rafael Navarro to St. Louis for Club Record Intra-League $12 Million
• St. Louis CITY SC Signs Proven MLS Goalscorer Rafael Navarro as a Designated Player from Colorado Rapids
• St. Louis City pays record $12M for Rapids' Rafael Navarro