Porter alluded to the acquisition Tuesday, when he said the Revolution would soon add “another depth piece as well up top” to help fill the gap as designated player Tomás Chancalay recovers from ACL surgery in June . Urruti, who spent 11 years in MLS prior to a move last season to Plantense in his native Argentina, fills that bill.
Free agent forward Maximiliano Urruti signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2026, reuniting the 33-year-old with Revolution manager Caleb Porter, with whom he won the 2015 MLS Cup with Portland.
A little more than a week after trading striker Giacomo Vrioni , the Revolution added another potential solution for what was MLS’s worst offense last season.
“A seasoned veteran in MLS, with no shortage of both experience and success in our league,” said Porter, calling Urruti a “key piece” to what was the coach’s first of two MLS Cup winners. “Maxi is a top professional and a great guy in the locker room. His addition will strengthen the depth on our roster as we prepare to begin a new season.”
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Urruti made eight appearances last season for Platense, returning home after rolling through six MLS clubs in more than a decade in the league. Developed in the Newell’s Old Boys organization which also produced Lionel Messi, Urruti joined Toronto for two appearances in 2013, then played for the Timbers, Dallas (winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2016), Montreal, Houston, and Austin, with whom he scored 10 goals in 57 appearances in 2022-23.
His 70 goals in 292 regular-season matches are the ninth-most among active MLS players, with Urruti adding two more in 13 playoff appearances across five years. A regular starter in the league from 2016-22, 15 of Urruti’s 25 appearances in 2023 were as a substitute, with Austin declining its contract option at year’s end.
He is the latest new face after the Revolution managed just 35 goals in a 9-21-4 season. Along with trading Vrioni, New England allowed veteran Bobby Wood to depart, and brought in Leo Campana from Miami for a record $2.5 million in general allocation money and Ignatius Ganago on loan from France’s FC Nantes.
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“We don’t want to be in a situation where for the next three months, if we play a two-front, we have nobody to sub in,” Porter said Tuesday, hinting at Urruti’s acquisition. “Or if we end up starting Ganago and Campana, we don’t have a number nine to come in.”
The team expects Chancalay back in April.
The Revolution, already in Florida for preseason training, have their first exhibition match scheduled for Tuesday against Austin FC. Their season opener is Feb. 22 at Nashville.