RSL’s newest acquisition, defender/wingback DeAndre Yedlin (pronounced day – AHN – dray) has arrived in Utah and will get two training sessions at altitude under his belt prior to making his expected debut Saturday at home against Minnesota United FC. Tickets for RSL’s five remaining home MLS games this season as the team pushes for its fifth consecutive postseason berth are available at www.RSL.com/tickets for the quintet of expected sellouts in Sandy, which also sees RSL welcome long-time rival Sporting Kansas City (Sat., Sept. 13), Son Heung-Min, Denis Bouanga and LAFC (Wed., Sept. 17), West pursuer Austin FC (Sat., Sept. 27) and Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado (Sat., Oct. 4) on Fan Appreciation Day.
Here's some things you should know about DeAndre as we welcome him to Utah:
1) Yedlin is a veteran of 218 career MLS matches upon his arrival on the Wasatch Front, amassing that total with Seattle (2013/14), Inter Miami (2022-24) and Cincinnati (2024/25), scoring four career goals in the U.S. / Canada-based setup from his usual right back / right wingback position.
2) A three-time MLS All-Star (2013, 2014, 2022), Yedlin also served as club Captain for Inter Miami’s 2023 Leagues Cup championship team, ceding the honor to Lionel Messi upon his late-season arrival. As a second-year professional, Yedlin also raised the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with Seattle in 2014.
3) Yedlin also scored four times while playing 187 games of European football from early 2015 to January 2022. Yedlin’s European totals include 151 games in England with Newcastle – whom he helped gain promotion in the 2016/17 campaign – as well as Sunderland and Tottenham, prior to a 36-game career with Turkish power Galatasaray in 2021/22.
4) Born on July 9, 1993 as DeAndre Roselle Yedlin in Seattle, Wash., the former Crossfire Premier player becameSeattle Sounders FC’s first-ever homegrown signing, returning to his hometown after attending the University of Akron for two seasons (2011/12). RSL’s penultimate MLS match of the season sees a return for Yedlin and his new Club on Sat., Oct. 11 at Lumen Field, site of significant glory for both Yedlin individually and RSL collectively (MLS Cup 2009 victory).
5) Yedlin is a two-time FIFA World Cup selection (2014 & 2022), boasting 81 caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team over a decade-long span from 2014 to 2023, earning notoriety as the youngest USMNT player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where he was teammates with then-active Claret-and-Cobalt icons Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando.
6) Yedlin, who will wear jersey No. 2 for RSL this season, joins nine other RSL players to own FIFA World Cup appearances on their career resume, with Eddie Pope (2006), Robbie Findley (2010), Rimando (2014) and Beckerman (2014) also representing the United States. Former RSL midfielder Andy Williams (Jamaica, 1998), Douglas Sequiera (Costa Rica, 2006), Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica, 2010/14), Carlos Salcedo (Mexico, 2018) and Bryan Oviedo (Costa Rica, 2018/2022) also competed for their home nations in the globe’s largest event. Pope, Findley, Rimando, Beckerman and Oviedo each participated in the quadrennial event while an active member of RSL, while Saborio saw his 2014 bid cut short due to a pre-tourney knee injury.
7) Only eight players in Real Salt Lake history have played more games in Europe than Yedlin – Alfredo Ortuño (511), Nedum Onuoha (354), fellow 2025 addition Johnny Russell (334), Damir Kreilach (277), Giuseppe Rossi (268), Bobby Wood (230), new teammate Diogo Gonçalves (219) and Everton Luiz (204).
8) Yedlin has ties to the Claret-and-Cobalt, connections spanning his youth, MLS and international careers. In his own words: “RSL is an historic club in MLS, with an amazing reputation around the League,” said Yedlin from the airport on Wednesday night, prior to his arrival at Salt Lake City International Airport. “I’ve played with two of the Club’s iconic people, Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman, and I was coached by Jason Kreis in Miami. I’ve known (Chief Soccer Officer) Kurt Schmid since my Seattle days, (Director of Recruitment) Jon Spencer is a family friend. (Head Coach) Pablo Mastroeni’s reputation is excellent with his track record of success on and off the pitch. The culture they’ve built there is outstanding.”
9) Yedlin could be the 13th debutant for RSL this season if/when he plays Saturday, joining GK Rafael Cabral, DF Kobi Henry, FW Forster Ajago, FW Ari Piol, DF Sam Junqua, MF Tyler Wolff, FW Jesus Barea, FW William Agada, FW Johnny Russell, MF Aiden Hezarkhani, FW Rwan Cruz and FW Victor Olatunji.
10) With 12 hours remaining in the secondary MLS transfer period, Yedlin becomes the fourth player to be added to Real Salt Lake’s roster in the 2025 summer window, joining USA U20 Marcos Zambrano (free agent after three years in Portugal), Brazilian FW Rwan Cruz (added via loan from Botafogo in Brazil August 1) and Nigerian FW Victor Olatunji (transfer from Sparta Prague on August 6).
11) Yedlin expressed excitement and opportunity to get back to the Western geography of the U.S. Again, in his words: “My family is excited for the move, looking forward to living in the mountains, which will be a whole different world with the nature there,” added Yedlin, father of two young children. “I’m excited to get back to the West, as I’ve always felt at home in the mountains, my grandfather and I used to go hiking a lot when I was a child. I find them very calming and relaxing. My wife is from The Bronx, and she cannot wait.”
12) Yedlin, an advocate for meditation and the act of “grounding” to re-center oneself, has also become a voracious reader off the field late in his career. Other off-field passions also include exploring his artistic side, typically throughclothing design – Yedlin hopes to create a capsule collection with RSL, much like he did previously in Cincinnati – while also pursuing various environmental endeavors, primarily through his recyclable/vegan Sokito brand football boots.
