RSL permanently signs Everton Luiz after year-long loan

If you thought Everton Luiz was already officially a Real Salt Lake player, you might be a little surprised by this news.

And really, you’d be forgiven for that, because in June, his parent club — S.P.A.L. — announced that he’d been purchased by RSL. That never seemed to materialize from a Real Salt Lake perspective, which brought with it some amount of worry.

But worry no more: Luiz is officially a Real Salt Lake player. The deal saw RSL use some targeted allocation money to make it happen, and we are all certainly thankful they did.

Some quotes from the club’s top brass in a press release follow.

Elliott Fall, RSL general manager

“We are thrilled to be able to keep a foundational piece of our midfield. He joined us in 2019 and quickly established himself as a key contributor to everything we are trying to do.”

Freddy Juarez, RSL coach

“With such a young team, Everton added a veteran presence and his work-ethic and ability to break up plays while showing some flare was important to our success. He adds to our toughness on the field and his professionalism in the locker room helps set the tone for what we want to do as a club.”