November 13, 2025, was a big day for Major League Soccer. While the Portland Timbers invited media to their Beaverton, OR, training facility for season-ending exit interviews, league owners were finalizing a much-anticipated change to the MLS season that will see the league sync up with the European calendar – A landmark moment in U.S. Soccer history.
League News
In 2027 MLS will conduct a condensed 14-match season, including playoffs and a cup final, to be held between February and May before the major adjustment: The 2027-28 MLS season will begin in July, take a winter break between mid-December to mid-February (As is the case in La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Eredivisie), and resume play before MLS Cup is held in May.
Paul Tenorio of The Athletic also reported that MLS has reached an agreement with Apple which will see the partners scrap 'MLS Season Pass on Apple TV' (Boy I will not miss typing that), and allow everyone with a basic Apple TV subscription to view all of the league's matches and accompanying programming. Season ticket holders at every MLS club will now receive an Apple TV subscription for free as part of the change, and it should also be noted that Apple and Peacock recently announced a partnership that will bundle the two platforms for $14.99 per month – Giving fans access to the NBA, Premier League, NFL, F1, and MLS.
In short, today was a massive win for MLS as a league in terms of growth, sustainability, and accessibility.
Portland Timbers Season-Ending Press Conferences
After crashing out of the 2025 season with a 4-0 loss to San Diego FC in game three of their first-round playoff series, the Timbers dusted themselves off and regrouped back in Portland to speak to the media for the final time this year.
General manager Ned Grabavoy, head coach Phil Neville, captain Diego Chara, fledgling talisman Kristoffer Velde, and goalkeeper James Pantemis took to the podium to give their thoughts on the 50th anniversary season, roster statuses heading into 2026, and what needs to change for the club to reach their ambitions moving forward.
Ned Grabavoy
General Manager Press Conference
On DP Jonathan Rodriguez's injury (underwent season-ending knee surgery in July), future in Portland, and impact on roster model:
"That timeline is estimated probably somewhere around 12 months – That could be a bit shorter or a bit longer ... That takes us all the way into the summer of next season.
It's a big reason why we stayed aggressive in the summertime, adding another high-profile attacking player who can be dangerous and score goals in Kristoffer Velde. Because we didn't want the roster to also have to suffer losing such a key, important player.
We've been supportive of Jonathan in his recovery and will continue to do so, he'll continue to [recover] as he's under contract for next season, but for the time being we'll have the ability to wait and make a decision on Jonathan specifically.
In terms of the roster model, at this time we're trending very much toward a two DP, four u22 model, but we do have some flexibility to look at both scenarios as we did this past season."
On David Da Costa's first season in Portland and shoulder injury:
"I thought he had a good influence early on the group, thought he had an impact which led to him being an All-Star early in the season, really, going into Leagues Cup where he scored a goal and suffered an injury in that game.
That injury to his shoulder continued to occur throughout the rest of the regular season. He has an issue with a shoulder that seems to pop out quite often which can be extremely painful, and we had to go into a process of trying to calm that down over a couple of days, play through pain, and a little worry that it would happen again.
We've had to have a surgery in place and wait for the end of the season for that to happen. David is going to go and do that back in Europe ... that surgery most likely will take place next week. The thought process and goal is that sometime early next season he's available for us."
On Phil Neville's status as Portland Timbers head coach:
"Confident in Phil, no questions there whatsoever, no wavering from me. Phil's a great leader, Phil's the right person to lead this team right now.
[On the start of the season through Leagues Cup] How we'd been playing in the MLS season, looking at some of the additions we made in the summer, honestly I was about the most bullish I've been about where the team and club was over the past four or five years.
And then we have to be honest, reflect, and look at that last stretch of 10 games, getting into the playoffs and competing but not advancing further – I think we fell short on results for a lot of different reasons ... But ultimately the results fell short and we started to drift and trend downwards.
With Phil, myself, we have alignment. There's this continued challenge for our club that: we want to, should be, and need to be a team that's higher in the conference. A top team in the conference competing more consistently and further in the playoffs, and really feel confident that we're ultimately competing for trophies."
On expiring/extending contract options for players going into 2026:
Picked up:
David Ayala's contract option in 2026 has been exercised by the club. "We've been speaking to his representation about trying to extend that out, but David's also a player who has big ambitions as well. He does have a market back at other clubs in Argentina and elsewhere that have been interested in him."
Diego Chara's contract option was exercised by the club.
James Pantemis' contract option was exercised by the club.
Felipe Mora's contract option was exercised by the club.
Declined:
Cristhian Paredes' contract option was declined. "Cristhian's been at the club for eight seasons, I was almost shocked to see that. He's been one of the best professionals I've ever been around, complete team player, and he's played a big role for us. We felt like, and I think Cristhian agrees as well, mutually it was the right time for him to go and find a different opportunity."
Felipe Carballo's contract option was declined. "I would say that we will stay connected with him and that we will explore what a potential future could look like there."
Matias Rojas' contract option was declined. "At times [Rojas] played a big role for us and had an impact, but did struggle with some injuries as well."
Max Crepeau "Is a free agent, but [we] have not had conversations to retain Max within the group."
Open to/currently discussing new contracts:
Finn Surman – "We've had conversations with Finn and his representation over the last couple of months about trying to put a new contract in place. First and foremost he deserves that, he does deserve a raise and we would like to keep him here long-term. We do have control of the contract for the next two years but certainly we are very open to exploring those things with Finn and his agents."
Dario Zuparic "Is a free agent, we'll continue to have conversations with him there," Eric Miller "same."
Hunter Sulte "Who's a young goalkeeper, but we're hopefully in the process of finalizing a new contract for Hunter because we've got big plans for him and having him back for us next season as well."
Phil Neville
Head Coach Press Conference
On Portland's evolving DP situation throughout 2025:
"You know this league is built on DP success, really, your whole structure of your team is built around two DPs.
The injury to Jonathan [Rodriguez] was a real killer. You're talking about ... over 20 goal contributions, and you see with the biggest area of our drop-off this year from last year was obviously goals scored. You think about the amount of work that goes into buying a DP, it was impossible to [immediately] replace. He left at the end of season in good shape, he came back, and then all of a sudden the problem developed.
We acquired a really, really good young player [David da Costa] from France who hit the ground running ... If you look back to the St. Louis game (July 13) the whole shoulder popped out, and from then until the end of the season he showed incredible courage. We could have easily put him into an operation straight away, he said 'no way, I want to get this club into the playoffs,' so I think what we saw then was a player who was playing at 40-50 percent in terms of the injury.
Then we brought in Kristoffer Velde who we'd done a lot of work on, like I say it's a three, four month period when you invest that kind of money ... We brought in a player who I think is going to be a real star in this league, and I think everyone in this room would agree in terms of what we've seen over the last two, three months.
He probably didn't get the goals that we needed, but you look at Jonathan when he first came in ... I don't think we won a game in his first 11. We were finding more out about him and then all of a sudden he went on that goal-scoring rush. With Kristoffer you look at other DP signings that came in [at the same time], maybe Son [Heung-Min, LAFC] who scored seven to eight goals, Kristoffer easily could have scored seven to eight goals. In terms of his performances he took the team up to another level, and I'm incredibly excited about what he's going to bring to us next year."
On recruitment during the winter transfer window:
"I think first and foremost we do need to improve. I feel as if when I came in two years ago ... there was a rebuild from where we were. There were a lot of really good players who were coming to the end of there time here, and I'd say that in the offseason last year I think part one was to start the rebuild. I think we're still in that rebuild.
You think about the players who are coming to the end of their contracts now: Mora, Zuparic, Millsy [Eric Miller], Paredes – These are part of the old brigade ... and we need to keep evolving as a football club and as a roster. Those players were massively important to us and some of them are still going to be massively important to us.
[Last season] We lowered the age of the squad, we brought in a different type of player in terms of physicality because of the way football is doing, and we need to continue to do that."
On what he wants the club's on-pitch identity to look like next year:
"I think for the last two years we're a team that play 4-2-3-1, I think 70-80 percent of the time we play that system, it's been our identity. I think in modern-day football you've got to have a degree of adaptability ... coming out of the LAFC game (1-0 win away, July 25) going into the Leagues Cup where we had to be adaptable. We went to LAFC, played three at the back and won. We then went through the Leagues Cup, played three at the back and won.
It was around that time that we lost Santi Moreno – A big, big point of playing the 4-2-3-1 in our system was Santi Moreno, think about that combination on the right side: Mosquera, Santi Moreno. That was a big part of our system and our flow.
I've got to say coming out of Leagues Cup with what we'd achieved over the [previous] four games with only conceding one goal and three wins out of four, is that we continued with that three-at-the-back system because of personnel but also because the decision that we were an adaptable team. Then in the playoffs it was 'needs must.'
The identity of this team I think has been pretty clear from day one, we're a 4-2-3-1 team that wants to score goals, entertain, and play fast, attacking football. We just need to be better at that, and I think that's the consistency now from the top to the bottom that we're going to be demanding."
Diego Chara
Club Captain Press Conference
On having his contract option picked up for his 16th season as a Portland Timber:
"I have an option with the team, I think they're going to take it. I'm really happy talking about the future, you know? I think it's going to be exciting for me and I'm just ready for next year."
On the importance of the coaching staff finding a consistent starting XI on a week-to-week basis in 2026:
"[Nodding in agreement] Very important, but I think it's a tough decision, you know, from [Phil] and the coaching staff, and I think they try to make a decision in the best possible way to put a good team on the field.
I agree with you (I about ascended to footy heaven hearing Diego Chara tell me he agrees with me about something soccer-related), it's really important for every player, every team, to have a consistent 11 starters."
On Kristoffer Velde:
"I think Kristoffer was a great addition to the team – A guy who brings power and intensity to an attacking side. In my opinion he came with a great attitude ... I think it's going to be interesting for next year to see how Kristoffer is going to develop for the team."
Kristoffer Velde
Star Forward Press Conference
On joining the Timbers in the middle of the season for the stretch-run:
"Here I feel like I came in and I was in good shape, but as you have seen I missed so many chances and that was a frustrating part for me. But I felt like I increased my level during the three months I was here, I feel like I personally ended the season strong. It's a pity that we are not still in it, but yeah I'm hopeful for next season."
On ingratiating himself with Timbers supporters:
"What I posted on Instagram, that's fully true. The people around the club are so nice, everybody I meet in the streets, the fans, I really fell in love with this place so fast. I'm super excited to be here and I hope next season will be much better and we will go much farther in the playoffs – That's what everyone here hopes for, I'm sure it will be better."
On what it will take, for him personally and the team as a whole, to be better next year:
"I'm used to Europe: way tougher dressing rooms I've been inside. I think the standards need to be set a little bit higher, what we do on the training ground, what we do in the gym. We have so many players with so much quality ... The potential is there so we just need to get it out of them – I'm here to help, the experienced players are here to help, the whole staff is here to help, so we just need to set a culture where we have this winning mentality. To push everybody, because we need everybody during a season.
I think when that comes you will see a whole different team on the pitch."
On the season ending too soon after arriving a few months before the playoffs:
"I just came from a two month vacation, so like I say it's a bit shit to sit here now and 'that's the end of the season.' I wish we could have gone further, but I always stay fit during the offseason. The rest of the players need more of a vacation than me because they had such a long season, but hopefully everyone will come back fit and we will start off the new season with a fresh start and work toward our goals."
On playing across the entire forward line, and his preferred position on the pitch:
"I pretty much came here and fucked up the whole system when I got here, I don't think [Phil] Neville and Dave [van den Bergh] were sure where to put me. To be honest I prefer to play on the left, we had so many setups with me being on the right, Antony playing opposite of me, David da Costa playing more deep, Kevin Kelsy, Pipe Mora [trails off]. We were never able to set the perfect lineup, and that's fine because we have so much quality and we needed rotation because there were so many games.
Some games I felt I played amazing with Antony on the same side as me when I was number 10 and he was 11 winger because we have a good link-up. Sometimes Da Costa wasn't too comfortable playing on the right, I wasn't that comfortable playing on the right, so we have a job to do: we have to find out who is best in each position and that can change during a season as well."
James Pantemis
First-Choice Goalkeeper Press Conference
On having his contract option picked up for the 2026 season:
"Obviously grateful, excited, I think I've made it very evident that I've really enjoyed my time here and I feel like it's my home away from home. At the moment there's no place I'd rather be and I'm happy that I get to continue playing for this club."
On Max Crepeau leaving the club, and battling for the starting goalkeeper spot over the last two seasons:
"If you look at the grand scheme of things it was obviously a healthy competition, [Max is] someone who I've known the majority of my life. We've grown up together, we've pushed each other at different stages in our careers whether that was internationally or now at club level.
At times it wasn't easy because I was on the end of not playing, at times for him it wasn't easy because he wasn't playing, but the respect was always there. We helped each other every day, whether it was me trying to mirror his work ethic or seeing the standard he brings every day and trying to match it and even top it as well.
I used that to my advantage I would say the last couple years, because obviously he's a very good goalie, he's achieved a lot in this league, achieved a lot internationally and he's definitely someone I look up to.
I feel like the last two years of my play have been the best of my career so far. It could be because of that, it could be because of other things, but that's pretty much what I saw over the last two years."
Overarching Thoughts
I left the Timbers training facility today feeling somewhat optimistic about where the team can go in 2026, truly I did. Whether they can improve meaningfully, or god forbid win a trophy, is entirely down to the work that Ned, Phil, and the players do over the offseason to put themselves in the best possible position to succeed.
There are no more excuses for this regime – That much is evident to me, it's evident to you supporters, and it's very evident to everyone involved at the club. Phil Neville is entering the third and final year of his contract, and if I can offer my opinion having been in-and-around the team the last two years, I would comfortably say that Phil genuinely gives a damn about the club, the city, and the supporters who make it special. He sees what everyone has said about him and the disappointments of 2024-25, and he knows more than anybody that he's now under real pressure to deliver.
They've earned over $20 million in transfer fees and reinvested it, so far, in young hungry players who have the traits to become a really good team in MLS. They just have to commit to a consistent lineup, identity, and hunger to win more often than not.
Laugh at me all you want, but with the right additions this winter I believe they can. You can hear it in Kristoffer Velde's voice, see it in Diego Chara's face, you felt it during game 2 against San Diego when Gage Guerra sent Providence Park into raptures en-route to another magical penalty shootout under the lights.
Things are moving in the right direction for MLS, let's all hope the Timbers' fortunes follow suit.
