PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced on Wednesday the club had acquired forward Rémi Cabral on loan from the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer for the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Cabral joins Rising FC having earned the Golden Boot in MLS NEXT Pro for Rapids 2 during the 2023 season. He scored a 22-minute hat trick against Minnesota United FC 2 to end the season with 19 goals, earning him the honor via a tiebreak of a goals-per-90 minutes mark of 1.217.

“I was trying not to think about the Golden Boot race but everyone knew,” said Cabral. “Two days prior to the game, MLS Next posted an article about the Golden Boot race. Everyone saw I was two goals behind so all they said to me that week was ‘a trick is coming.’ It was the first time I’ve scored three goals in a game.”

Cabral began his professional career as a 17-year-old with the reserve side of Paris Saint-Germain in 2016. He appeared 30 times, scoring five goals between stints with French Championnat National 3 sides Valenciennes II and Metz II before joining LA Galaxy II for the 2021 season. Across two seasons for Los Dos in the USL Championship, Cabral recorded eight goals and two assists in 56 appearances.

“Rémi offers both sides of what we are looking for in a player in his position,” said Rising FC Head Coach Danny Stone. “He adds a dynamic element to the group because of his physical attributes but he also plays well and combines with his teammates. Remi is coming off a 19-goal season, so I expect him to come in with confidence. Equally significant, I’ve heard nothing but good things about him as a person and a teammate.”

Analysis

Rémi Cabral returns to the USL Championship on loan with Phoenix Rising FC after a breakout campaign in MLS NEXT Pro that saw him more than double his goal total over the prior two seasons in the USL Championship with the LA Galaxy II. He helped the Rapids 2 to the postseason a campaign ago, and the hope will be with a more experienced supporting cast behind him he can flourish this season.

At 24 years old, this is also a pivotal season for Cabral’s potential pathway. If he excels in Phoenix, it could offer a chance to continue his ascent up the ranks in the Rapids’ organization, or at another top tier club. With last year’s top two goalscorers for the side departed in Danny Trejo and Manuel Arteaga, it will be interesting to see what sort of partnership Cabral can form with the returning Dariusz Formella and the rest of Rising FC’s forward corps.