- Aaronson admitted he hadn’t anticipated returning to MLS
- Cited conversations with Frankfurt about his future as catalyst for move
- Colorado’s vision for developing aspects of his game a selling point
U.S. international Paxten Aaronson opened up about the whirlwind of events leading to his move to the كولورادو رابيدز. The 21-year-old midfielder said he hoped to carve out a similar role at آينتراخت فرانكفورت after his loan at نادي أوتريخت لكرة القدم and pushed to make it work with the الدوري الألماني side during preseason.
“After my season at Utrecht, I was feeling great after that season. And I knew that the next step, with the كأس العالم coming in, and all of what had happened last year, I knew I needed to go to a club where I could do exactly what I did last year,” Aaronson said on the CBS Sports Golazo America podcast.
Aaronson mentioned he, his agent, and Frankfurt discussed various options, including a return to Utrecht, but his club insisted that the American should stay with the club during preseason to see if he could earn more minutes with the Bundesliga team.
“I was open to it because a club like Frankfurt, if I can go in and impress and play there, then yeah, it’s like the pinnacle. It’s a دوري أبطال أوروبا club, a top-five league, so I was going to try to go there and make the best of it,” he said.
However, with pre-season not working out to his expectations, the midfielder revealed that both parties agreed to explore options that would maximize Aaronson’s development and playing time with the World Cup approaching. He confessed that a move back to the MLS wasn’t even on the cards for him, but an offer from the Colorado Rapids changed the situation.
“I think as the preseason went on, me and the club mutually agreed that they probably couldn’t give me the minutes [I expected], especially after the season I had last season,” he explained. “So it was kind of mutual to start looking for other clubs, and yeah, probably find a solution, and my agents did a great job.
“But yeah. I wasn’t even expecting to kind of come back to MLS. It wasn’t in my mind till my agent called me and said, ‘Yeah, Colorado are interested, they have an open [Designated Player] spot.'”
Aaronson revealed that a phone call with Colorado’s technical staff – including head coach Chris Armas – ultimately convinced him that the Rapids represented the ideal move for him right now.
“They came back with some serious interest,” he said. “What really kind of turned my head is when I had the phone call with the Colorado staff and Chris [Armas] and kind of the idea that they proposed to me. I think was something unique where I don’t even think a lot of European clubs can offer what they offered me in terms of coming to a new challenge, wearing the No. 10 [role], coming into a team where I can influence.”
For the former Philadelphia academy player, the chance to continue developing his game in his return to MLS was a big sellng point.
“And I think for me, that’s a different aspect of my game where I haven’t been able to kind of work on and I think it’ll bring out different sides of me that I think I know we’ll get the best out of me, kind of freedom on the field, free flowing and kind of giving the green light to chai stuff and I think that’s what really intrigued me.
The 21-year-old midfielder also confirmed that U.S. Men’s وطني Team manager Mauricio Pochettino’s demonstrated willingness to call up MLS-based players removed a potential barrier that might have previously discouraged him from returning to the domestic league.
“Yeah, definitely,” Aaronson added when asked whether Pochettino’s views on the MLS changed things. “Like you said, I knew I couldn’t go somewhere where I wasn’t gonna play. And yeah, of course, nothing’s ever guaranteed in life, or in soccer.
“But I knew coming up with the World Cup, and like you said, especially how Pochettino speaks about the MLS, and just when you look at the rosters, he selects, I know that MLS, you don’t have a big red X next to your name. So yeah, that was definitely a part of it.”
Aaronson’s perspective reflects a significant shift in the USMNT ecosystem under Pochettino’s leadership. Previous national team regimes often prioritized European-based players regardless of playing time, creating implicit pressure for American talents to remain abroad even in suboptimal situations.
Aaronson has already made two appearances for the Colorado Rapids and will likely be a part of their next game, after the international break, against the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 14.
