DeAndre Yedlin fits into San Diego Loyal’s membership group. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)
It turned out to be a pretty damn good day for DeAndre Yedlin.
Not only was he named to the U.S. men’s national team training camp prior to the May 30 friendly in Swizterland, the Galatasaray became a member of the San Diego Loyal SC membership group Thursday.
Yedlin returned to the USMNT fold for the first time since November 2019. The veteran right back made the move to the Turkish Süper Lig side from Newcastle United earlier this year, where his team finished in second place and secured a place in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
And now we can add owner to DeAndre’s resume with the USL Championship side.
“I am very excited to be joining the San Diego Loyal ownership group,” Yedlin said in a statement. “After speaking with Andrew [Vassiliadis], Warren [Smith] and Landon [Donovan] about the club’s values, morals and goals for the future and then seeing those being put to action made it hard for me to turn down this opportunity.”
Yedlin, 27, started playing soccer at the age of four and began his professional career with his hometown MLS club, Seattle Sounders FC. He also had stints at Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Newcastle United. Primarily a defender, Yedlin has made 62 appearances with the USMNT. He fits in with the club’s morals as an activist for racial equality. He regularly speaks out on his experiences as a Black American.
“It’s important that our entire team, from our players to staff and coaches to investors, adds value to San Diego Loyal,” Andrew Vassiliadis, chairman of SD Loyal and lead investor, said in a statement. “DeAndre embodies this in the way he carries himself and the way he tackles his career. We couldn’t have imagined a better person to join us and our determination to make San Diego the soccer capital of North America.”
