HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, April 1, 2022) – Real Monarchs have signed RSL Academy midfielder and Utah native Christian Nydegger to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract, pending league approval.
“The Real Monarchs are proud to announce the signing of one of our academy’s most esteemed graduates, Christian Nydegger. In his time within our Club, Christian has consistently shown meritorious work ethic and footballing ability, while also holding himself to elite standards of character and in the classroom. We look forward to Christian’s continued development as a professional within our Club for the years to come,” Real Salt Lake Assistant General Manager Tony Beltran said.
Nydegger, 18, is the latest RSL Academy product to sign a professional contract with Real Monarchs, joining forwards Yekeson Subah and Terron Williams. Real Salt Lake has seen many of its players ascend from the RSL Academy to Real Monarchs, eventually signing with the MLS team, including Homegrown Players Andrew Brody, Julio Benitez, Gavin Beavers and Jaziel Orozco.
This is Nydegger’s second season with the Monarchs having appeared in 15 matches last season with seven of them being starts. Prior to the start of the Real Monarchs 2022 season, Nydegger spent time training with Real Salt Lake in Tucson, AZ for the Club’s preseason. In the Real Monarchs season opener Nydegger started in the attacking midfield role for Head Coach Jamison Olave, recording two of the team's three shots, both of which were on target.
The Utah native originally joined the Real Salt Lake organization with RSL-AZ in 2016 before moving with the academy to Herriman upon the opening of Zions Bank Real Academy in 2017.
Prior to joining RSL, Nydegger played for Utah-based club, La Roca FC, a club which has produced multiple Monarchs players including RSL Homegrowns Bode Davis and Jeff Dewsnup. Nydegger, hailing from Highland, Utah, joins Davis (Kaysville, Utah), and Dewsnup (Herriman, Utah) as the only three Utah-born players within the Real Monarchs squad.
Real Monarchs are now competing in the newly formed MLS NEXT Pro, with the Home Opener set for this Saturday, April 2nd at 5:00 p.m. MT at Zions Bank Stadium. This move comes after seven seasons in the USL Championship, during which the team won the 2019 USL Championship Cup, the 2017 USL Regular Season Shield and the Western Conference Title in both 2017 and 2019, while also qualifying for the postseason in 2018.
Tickets for Real Monarchs can be purchased by calling 844.Real.Tix or visiting www.RSL.com/tickets.
TRANSACTION: Real Monarchs sign midfielder Christian Nydegger to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract.
Player InformationName: Christian Nydegger
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5’9"
Date of Birth: August 23, 2003
Age: 18
Birthplace: Highland, Utah
Hometown: Highland, Utah
Citizenship: United States
Last Club: RSL Academy
How Acquired: Signed on March 31, 2022
Real Monarchs current roster as of 04/01/22
Defenders: Bobby Pierre, Pierre Reedy,
Midfielders: Jack Imperato, Leo Torres, Pedro Fonseca, Tyrone Mondi, Christian Nydegger
Forwards: Terron Williams, Yekeson Subah
