Ruiz, Brody, Heard loaned to Austrian third division side

It’s extremely rare that you see this sort of thing. Real Salt Lake has shipped three players on loan to an Austrian third-division side, FC Pinzgau Saalfelden: Real Monarchs’ Andrew Brody and Josh Heard have joined a year-long loan, while Ruiz has been sent on a six-month loan.

FC Pinzgau Saalfelden recently secured ‘overseas investment,’ which may go some way toward explaining the moves. In a statement on Twitter, the club indicated a desire to earn promotion to the Austrian second division.

From a club-issued release, RSL general manager Craig Waibel:

“As an organization it is imperative that we continue to build relationships with clubs around the world. Pinzgau Saalfelden have made several significant moves over the past 6 months including the hiring of Christian Ziege as their head coach. This, among other commitments made through new investors encouraged us to create a relationship whereby our clubs can mutually benefit. Pablo, Josh, and Andrew will now have a chance to further develop as players while getting new exposure for themselves and Real Salt Lake in Europe. We believe that they will perform at a very high level for FC Pinzgau Saalfelden and look forward to working closely with the club to further not only our players careers, but also further the growth and promotion of the club within the ranks of the Austrian leagues.”

READ MORE

• Real Monarchs Making Roster Moves
• The Salt: The Curious Case of Pablo Ruiz