The Seattle Sounders have traded former fullback Tyrone Mears' rights to 2017 Major League Soccer expansion side Atlanta United, Atlanta announced on Tuesday.
The Sounders, who did not extend Mears’ contract following the end of the 2016 season, will receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money from Atlanta for his rights. The league’s public disclosure of monetary amounts in trades involving allocation money began at the 2017 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 13.
Mears, 33, spent the previous two seasons — his first two in MLS — with Seattle. Last Friday, he took to Twitter to thank Sounders fans for their support.
Mears started 74 regular-season and postseason matches, scoring once and assisting on six more, including a memorable steal and assist against FC Dallas in the second leg of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals that all but advanced Seattle to the conference championship.
A native of Manchester, England, Mears came up as a youth player for Manchester City before having professional stints with Preston North End, West Ham, Derby County, a loan spell at Marseilles, Burnley and Bolton.
