COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced that defender Jukka Raitala was selected by Los Angeles Football Club with the fourth overall selection in today’s 2017 Major League Soccer Expansion Draft. Current clubs that had players selected received $50,000 in General Allocation Money in return. Raitala, who played for Crew SC in 2017, joins LAFC for their inaugural MLS season in 2018.
Raitala was subsequently traded from LAFC to Montreal Impact in exchange for Laurent Ciman
Raitala, a 29-year-old defender, joined Crew SC ahead of the 2017 campaign. In 2017, he made 28 regular-season appearances (20 starts) for the Black & Gold, contributing two assists while playing 1,920 minutes. The Finnish international also made two appearances (one start) at leftback in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, helping Crew SC reach the Eastern Conference Championship.
“While it is never easy to have a player selected in the Expansion Draft, we want to take a moment to thank Jukka for all of his contributions to Crew SC in 2017,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. “From the moment he arrived, Jukka was a consummate professional and worked hard on and off the field to quickly adapt to our system ahead of his season with us. We wish him the best in the next chapter of his career.”
The MLS offseason continues with the MLS Waiver Draft taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, December 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET and the MLS Re-Entry Draft Stage One occurring on Friday, December 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft takes place on Thursday, December 21 at 2 p.m. ET.
TRANSACTION
Columbus Crew SC defender Jukka Raitala was selected by Los Angeles Football Club with the fourth overall selection in the 2017 Major League Soccer Expansion Draft. Crew SC acquires $50,000 in General Allocation Money following the selection.
