Five Stripes exercises transfer option on Xande Silva

On Monday Atlanta United announced it has exercised the transfer option on Xande Silva from French side Dijon and signed the winger to a contract through the 2025 season with an option for 2026. Silva will occupy an international roster slot pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.

“We’re excited to bring Xande back on a permanent transfer and look forward to him building off of his performances during the final stretch of the season,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said.

Joining the club on loan during the 2023 summer transfer window, Silva quickly featured in Gonzalo Pineda’s starting eleven and made his first MLS start in a 2-0 win at Seattle on Aug. 20. He scored his first MLS goal in his next appearance, a 4-0 win against Nashville, and went on to record two goals and three assists in 641 total minutes, starting eight of his 10 MLS regular season appearances. The winger scored two more goals during the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, starting all three matches of Atlanta’s Round One series against Columbus Crew.

Prior to joining Atlanta, the 26-year-old made 172 career professional appearances across Europe and recorded 25 goals and nine assists. Born in Porto, Portugal, Silva began his career at FC Alverca and later spent time in the youth systems at Belenenses, Sporting Club de Portugal and Vitória Guimarães.