A veteran of 101 Major League Soccer appearances for Orlando City SC, the Lions today confirmed that defender Ruan has been traded to D.C. United in exchange for the No. 2 overall selection in tonight’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
Nicknamed “The Flash” due to his lightning quick pace, the fan favourite now joins up with Wayne Rooney at Audi Field after completing four MLS seasons with the Lions.
We have acquired the No. 2 overall pick in this year's #SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for Ruan.
Thank you, Ruan, for your time in purple 💜 pic.twitter.com/Pj7FZioRfj
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) December 21, 2022
Parting words
Speaking about Ruan‘s exit, Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said: “Ruan has been an incredibly important member of our project with the club over the last four years and we want to thank him for all of his hard work and effort.
The statistics
Tallying 101 Major League Soccer appearances for Orlando City SC, here are Ruan‘s final MLS statistics.
2019 season
- 25 games played
- 23 games started
- 2,096 minutes played
- 0 goals
- 5 assists
- 8 total scoring attempts
- 4 shots on target
- 1 yellow card
- 0 red cards
2020 season
- 21 games played
- 18 games started
- 1,597 minutes played
- 0 goals
- 4 assists
- 7 total scoring attempts
- 2 shots on target
- 4 yellow cards
- 0 red cards
2021 season
- 24 games played
- 21 games started
- 1,888 minutes played
- 2 goals
- 4 assists
- 9 total scoring attempts
- 5 shots on target
- 1 yellow card
- 0 red cards
2022 season
- 31 games played
- 29 games started
- 2,468 minutes played
- 2 goals
- 2 assists
- 8 total scoring attempts
- 4 shots on target
- 3 yellow cards
- 0 red cards
All the best
On behalf of Orlando City UK, we’d like to thank Ruan for all his contributions in Orlando City SC purple over the years.
🇧🇷😢 𝙁𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙒𝙀𝙇𝙇 𝙍𝙐𝘼𝙉 😢🇧🇷
Thank you for all your contributions for @OrlandoCitySC, Ruan. 👏🏽 Man, “The Flash” was a fun player to watch with his lightning speed from right back. ⚡️
Gutted he’s joining @dcunited. 😒#OCTwitter #OrlandoCity #MLSUK pic.twitter.com/tYRll6LMd8
— Orlando City UK (@Orlando_CityUK) December 21, 2022
Orlando City SC supporters’ view
With #OCTwitter still currently reacting to news of Ruan‘s sudden departure, we gathered some of the best tweets.
Surprised but I'm ok with it, I see it as a chance to get an even better player, so why not!
— Moraima (@Moraima_4) December 21, 2022
Favorite OC player of all time heart broken 💔
— Dick Trimble (@TrimbleDick) December 21, 2022
Alittle confused how to feel about this one. The crosses from the right side have been bad and this opens up space for Halliday to get some playing time but now we have questions on both ends of the defense. Also, dosent feel like we got enought, but this might be a wait and see.
— George Tabone (@GeorgeTabone) December 21, 2022
— LAMAR HUNT CUP CHAMPION (@Cer0t0ndePlaya) December 21, 2022
Ruan really struggled in 2022, to the point where Orlando clearly saw a need to upgrade at right back. With Facundo Torres drifting inside frequently, a consistent wide playmaker is needed at that spot. Mikey Halliday and Alex Freeman are both intriguing internal options.
— Evan Weston (@EvanLWeston) December 21, 2022
Honestly this opens the window for Mikey to get play time. I'm with it.
— Shiverz (@ItzShiverz) December 21, 2022
Nooooo
— KingConway (@KayC98) December 21, 2022
More off-season moves!
Ruan has been traded to DC United for the 2nd over pick in the super draft.
OC has two picks in the top 6 now.
We wish Ruan the best. He had some epic moments in orlando
OC frees up an international spot with the trade. https://t.co/Nq5fGwzF1J
— 🏆 Orlando Lions Den Podcast (@OrlandoLionsDen) December 21, 2022
Incredibly frustrating player, but doesn't seem good return when we are short so many players
— brian (@brianroberts252) December 21, 2022
Why would we trade a good 1st string for a college player… I would keep the successful player. Probably trying to shed cap by taking a generation adidas player.
— Dejavu (@dejavuorl) December 21, 2022
Don’t like it at all. Ruan has game changing speed. Don’t like it at all. I know he was a little rough last year, but the bounce back potential was huge. Don’t think I’ve been more upset for a player leaving ever….
— Corey Wolfgang (@coreywwolfgang) December 21, 2022
this does not make me happy….
— Anthony O. (@Waya37) December 21, 2022
Our Ruan and only
— ( Ξ-Marc21 ) (@eMarc21) December 21, 2022
Thank you for everything Ruan 💜
— Lionsblog (@lionsblog1) December 21, 2022
Ruan has been great. Love his attitude and of course the speed.I’m a little shocked he got traded for only a superdraft pick but I’m not heartbroken. I always remember him running up the field with the ball and then struggling to deliver a good cross consistently.
— Jeff Ball (@JeffBall_) December 21, 2022
Mistake. Big one IMHO.
— TheMizness (@themiznesss) December 21, 2022
…
Support Orlando City UK
Passionate about what we do, Orlando City UK content will always be free. The most important thing for us is sharing our love of Orlando City SC with you all and donations are by no means expected. However, if you enjoy our content, a token towards the regular maintenance of Orlando City UK is hugely appreciated!
