​​Alejandro Pozuelo playing for a new contract with Toronto FC in 2022

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March 21, 2022
Michael Singh
March 21, 2022

Alejandro Pozuelo’s contract situation with Toronto FC may be one of the more intriguing storylines to keep an eye on as the year progresses.

The TFC star is just two years removed from his 2020 MLS MVP campaign but is coming off one of the worst seasons of his professional career. At the end of last season, the Spaniard, who struggled to stay healthy for most of the year, provided some insight into the possible reasoning for his down year.

“I’m separated [from] my wife; she’s in Spain with my son, now I can confirm that we are out of season,” said Pozuelo at the team’s end-of-season media availability. “But I’m good. This is the most important now – to be good for the next season.”

After scoring nine goals and adding 10 assists in 23 appearances in 2020, Pozuelo scored just once and added four assists in 19 appearances last season. However, some – if not a lot – of his struggles can likely be attributed to the overall disaster that was the club last season, but the separation from his wife undoubtedly made the grueling year that much more difficult.

“I’m a guy that’s very family,” added Pozuelo. “I like to be [close] with my family, but when you are not good with one person, you cannot be happy, so this was a big problem this year. But now I’m very happy. I tried to [get] help with some psychology and for people to prepare me [on] this.”

So far in 2022, with the Toronto FC team still very much a work in progress – 19 players that were on last season’s roster have moved on from the club – Pozuelo has looked a lot closer to his 2020 self than last season’s version.

He scored his first goal of the year in Saturday’s come-from-behind win over DC United – already matching his goal total from last season – and has added two assists through four appearances, playing the full 90 minutes in each of the Reds’ first four matches.

And the strong start to the year is important to the former Swansea City midfielder, as he’s currently in a contract year with Toronto. After last year’s down year, he wants to prove to management that he’s worthy of a contract extension.

“I always say that I feel from the first day [of coming] here in preseason that I feel good,” said Pozuelo after Saturday’s win over DC. “I train in Spain with my personal trainer, I push myself to this year because it’s important for me because it’s the last year of my contract here so I need to show the people that I can play here [for] more years.

“I said to the President [Bill Manning] before I left Spain, I wanted to show you that last year [was] no good for me because I had some personal problems, but now I’m focused 100 per cent. I’m fixed. Physically, I’m very good so I’m trying to show the people that last year was no good, but I’m coming with power, with [a] good mentality to try to do my best this year.”

READ MORE: Exclusive: Jonathan Osorio on his contract negotiations with Toronto FC

There’s no doubt that he is a big-time player. Prior to making his splash in MLS, the talented Spaniard made a combined 62 appearances in the Premier League and La Liga and flourished in Belgium while with KRC Genk.

He was arguably the main reason Toronto made a surprising push to the 2019 MLS Cup Final and then followed that up with one of the best individual seasons in franchise history. You can easily make the argument that 2021 was the anomaly.

But with Pozuelo occupying one of Toronto’s three designated player slots, Manning and co. will be wary to ink the 30-year-old attacking midfielder to a new deal, especially when you consider Jozy Altidore’s contract extension in 2019, who was 29 years old at the time, and how that situation unfolded.

One thing is for certain. It appears Pozuelo wants to be here, and he’s motivated this season to prove that he warrants a new contract.

“I hope that I can be here [for] a lot of years,” he said at the end of last season. “This is my dream. This is my objective right now … for me, I will be happy here to help the team, now with a new project, with a new coach. I'm very excited to be here next year and I hope I can be here [for many] more years.

“This is my dream.”