The Columbus Crew have acquired Brais Méndez from Real Sociedad as a Designated Player, a move announced on July 2 that adds a proven Spain midfielder to the club’s attack for the second half of the MLS season and beyond.
Méndez will not be added to the roster right away. He must wait for the MLS secondary transfer window to open on July 13, and he still needs his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa before he can occupy an international roster slot.
The timing matters because Columbus is not buying a project. It is buying a player who has already done major work in a major league. Méndez leaves Real Sociedad with 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 matches, and his spell there included a place in the UEFA Champions League after the 2022-23 season and a Copa Del Rey title on April 19, 2026. In Champions League play, he appeared in seven matches and scored three goals, including the opening goal in a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on Sept. 20, 2023, in his debut in the competition.
His route to this point has been steady. Méndez made his professional debut on Sept. 21, 2017, starting in a 1-1 draw against Getafe, scored his first senior goal on March 31, 2018 with a 92nd-minute equalizer against Athletic Bilbao, and later scored the game-winning goal in his senior international debut for Spain in a 1-0 friendly victory over Bosnia on Nov. 18, 2018. He now arrives in Columbus with four senior caps for Spain and a track record that stretches across nearly a decade in the Spanish top flight, including 166 matches, 22 goals and 18 assists for Celta Vigo before his move to Real Sociedad.
Crew General Manager Issa Tall said the club believes Méndez will help both now and later, describing him as a high-level technical player whose experience in one of the world’s strongest leagues should lift the roster. The structure of the deal also points to how Columbus sees him: a Designated Player with a contract through the 2028-29 season and a club option for 2029-30, not a short-term stopgap.
One detail remains undisclosed: the transfer fee, if any, was not made public. But the shape of the move is already clear. Columbus has secured a player it wanted for the stretch run, and once the paperwork clears after July 13, Méndez is expected to step into a roster spot that was made for a late-season difference-maker.
