Toronto FC jumps to No. 2 in allocation ranking after deal

Toronto FC set the stage for a player acquisition Monday by moving up the player allocation ranking list in a deal with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Toronto jumped to No. 2 in the allocation ranking order from San Jose in exchange for US$75,000 in general allocation money, $75,000 in targeted allocation money and the No. 6 allocation spot.

Major League Soccer uses the allocation process as its way of acquiring select American internationals, elite youth U.S. internationals or former MLS players returning to MLS after joining a non-MLS club for a transfer fee greater than $500,000.

The allocation ranking is set by taking the reverse order of the club’s standings at the end of each MLS Season, with the expansion clubs at the top of the order.

Toronto now sits behind expansion FC Cincinnati on the 2019 list.

Players on the list include the likes of defenders Geoff Cameron (Queens Park Rangers) and

Omar Gonzalez (Atlas, Mexico).

Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list.

Teams can trade rankings, provided that part of the compensation received in return is the other club’s previous rank number.

Players signed by the allocation process include Vancouver’s Doneil Henry, Orlando’s Oriol Rosell and Portland’s Jorge Villafana.