San Diego will be getting a Major League Soccer expansion team beginning in 2025 — and Padres superstar third baseman Manny Machado will be a minority owner.
“San Diego Padres All-Star 3B Manny Machado will be a minority owner in San Diego's new MLS expansion franchise that begins play in 2025,” wrote USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale on Thursday.
Major League Soccer announced the expansion franchise on Thursday, co-owned by Egyptian billionaire and former politician Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, per The Athletic.
The team ownership is reportedly paying a $500 million expansion fee, and the teams yet unnamed team will play at Snapdragon Stadium, also the home of the NSWL's San Diego Wave FC.
Article Continues Below“I don't see any reason why, at the right time, if we're able to accommodate it as it relates to schedule and players and the ecosystem of MLS, why we couldn’t have more teams in the future,” MLS commissioner Don Garber previously said about a team in San Diego.
“But this is an example of — life is a long time. We do not need to expand. We expand so that we can build our fan base. We build our fan base, which drives revenue, we drive revenue and we can invest that money back into the sport.”
The NWSL launched the Wave last year, and it broke the league's single-match attendance record with a crowd of 32,000 spectators against Angel City FC, per The Athletic.
It's certainly exciting for the city of San Diego to be getting an MLS team, as well as for Manny Machado, with the baseball superstar dipping into the soccer pool starting in 2025.