Lorenzo Insignia has signed for Toronto FC.© AFP
Italian international Lorenzo Insigne signed a four-year contract on July 1 to join Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC from Napoli, the Canadian club announced on Saturday. The 30-year-old attacker and captain of Napoli will move midway through the MLS season after his Serie A contract expires in June. Insignia helped Italy win the European Championship title last year, the Azzurri winning 3-2 in a penalty shootout over England. “This is a historic and exciting day for our club,” said Bill Manning, president of Toronto FC.
“Lorenzo is a world-class attacking player in the prime of his career. He was European champion with Italy and has performed on the biggest stages during his club career.
“Lorenzo has a talent for game-changing. He plays the game with joy and passion, and our fans and supporters will love watching him.”
Toronto missed last year’s playoffs after three runs to the MLS Cup final in the previous five seasons, winning the trophy in 2017 with losses in 2016 and 2019.
Insignia follows the path of Italian Sebastian Giovinco, who left Juventus and played for Toronto from 2015-2019.
Insigne scored 114 goals in 416 appearances for Napoli and 10 goals for Italy in 53 caps, and appeared at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“We are all looking forward to having Lorenzo with us,” said Toronto coach Bob Bradley.
“His ability to create opportunities for himself and his team-mates is special. I have followed him for many years and I also know that he is also a player who works for the team.”
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“Lorenzo is the kind of player you come to see because there is always the chance that he will do something memorable.”
Toronto’s first scheduled game after Insignia’s contract kicks off is at home to Seattle on July 2 with another home game on July 9 against San Jose.
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