Molino in big-money trade to Minnesota

Orlando received US$450,000 in general allocation money and US$200,000 in targeted allocation money in the deal, which also sees goalkeeper Patrick Mc- Lain move to Minnesota.

The allocation money that Minnesota paid is among the higher prices ever paid between MLS teams, which only started releasing that data publicly this offseason.

Molino, a Trinidad and Tobago international, has been with Orlando City since 2011, when it played in the USL. He will be reunited with former Minnesota coach Adrian Heath, who coached Orlando from 2011 until he was fired in July.

“Where do you start with Kevin as a player, he has incredible touch on the ball, can score goals, can create goals, he has great balance, there’s nothing he can’t do with a football,” Heath said in a statement. “In my opinion he’s the best player in his position in the country.” Molino missed most of the 2015 MLS season after tearing his ACL, but played well last season, recording 11 goals with eight assists for the Lions.

“I spoke with Adrian and he asked me if I wanted to be a part of Minnesota United and join the team and that was it -- I have worked with him for a long time, so it was an easy decision,” Molino said. “I know what Adrian expects from me and I am really excited to join the club and build a relationship with my new teammates, coaches and the fans.” Orlando City general manager Niki Budalic said at the time the club was not interested in trading Molino, who was a big part of the team’s plan for the upcoming season.

“Nothing has changed, we always wanted to keep Kevin,” Budalic told the Orlando Sentinel.

“We made every attempt to resolve the situation, unfortunately he had made his opinion that he wanted a new challenge and [to] move on. Once he did that, we felt we couldn’t convince him to stay.

“We talked contract, new contracts, we had several discussions in person and on the phone, we dealt with his agent — at the end, we all agreed it was best to go our separate ways.

The most important thing is we’re not prepared to keep people here who aren’t happy. We want people here who are committed to helping this team win, and we didn’t feel that was the case with Kevin.” McClain has spent most of his career in USL. He is expected to act as a backup for John Alvbage, who Swedish club IFK Goteborg on Thursday announced was set to join the new MLS team.