​The Crew made a significant move this season when coach Henrik Rydström was dismissed and interim Laurent Courtois stepped in during May, and the shakeups did not stop when the World Cup break arrived. On July 3, Columbus traded team-leading scorer Diego Rossi to CF Monterrey in a deal reportedly worth up to $8 million. Meanwhile, Wessam Abou Ali was placed on the season-ending injury list during the break after suffering a torn ACL on April 12, leaving forward Daniel Gazdag as the only designated player available for the second half of the year. Gazdag joined the Crew from the Philadelphia Union in April 2025, but in Columbus he has recorded only one goal and started seven matches in 2026.
Diego Rossi was seen applauding the crowd as he left the field after a match against Atlanta on November 12. MLS roster rules permit each team to carry three designated players, whose salaries and signing costs can exceed the league’s maximum budget charge of $803,125. General manager Issa Tall indicated an intent to use the two designated-player slots for attacking-minded talents, and before Rossi’s departure was finalized, Columbus had already utilized one of those openings to sign La Liga midfielder Brais Méndez. Tall remarked that the sequence of events required meticulous timing: the signing and the Rossi exit fell into place within about a day of each other, and while the process had been months in the making, the exact execution was not planned to be rigidly synchronized.
The club began deep-dive scouting of Méndez in January, during his fourth season at Real Sociedad. Méndez concluded a nine-year La Liga tenure with 33 goals and 24 assists for Real Sociedad, and added 22 goals and 17 assists across five seasons with Celta Vigo. After inking Méndez through the 2028-29 term, the Crew now hold a designated-player slot that is anticipated to be available only for the remainder of the season, as Abou Ali is projected to return and reclaim the spot before 2027. Tall explained that the situation is “tricky.” The injury altered the plan, and now the hope is that Abou Ali can resume at the start of next season. In effect, the front office faces a puzzle—how to manage a short-term replacement while anticipating Wessam’s eventual return. “We’re talking about the gymnastics of finding someone for the short term, knowing that Wessam will come back later,” Tall said. “How hard is this? We’re working on it.”
Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall was pictured with Wessam Abou Ali after the forward was introduced as the club’s new designated player during a press conference, as the team navigates a complex roster situation shaped by injuries and midseason trades.