Atlanta United has transferred centerback Stian Gregersen to Swedish first-division club Malmö. Anel Advic of Expressen reported the news on Thursday, with the club making it official hours later. Per Advic, Gregersen has signed a three-year contract.
It’s a big salary off the books for Atlanta. Gregersen’s guaranteed compensation for 2026 was $970,000, according to the latest MLSPA salary guide. With Paulo Díaz and Júnior Alonso appearing to be Tata Martino’s preferred CB pairing, Gregersen looks to be the odd man out. The club does still have Enea Mihaj’s $1.5M contract, as well.
Since arriving in Atlanta, Gregersen stood out as a talented, consistent defender. But his injury history kept him from reaching his full potential with the club. Ultimately, he played in 56 MLS regular-season matches since 2024 and 69 matches across all competitions.
With Gregersen headed back to Scandinavia, that frees up a significant amount of cash for Atlanta United. Chris Henderson hinted during Breel Embolo’s press conference that some things were potentially in the works in terms of a possible new face on the roster. Gregersen’s exit looks to be the first shoe to drop in that regard.
All the best to Stian with his new club as he heads closer to home.
Looks like we are bringing in CM Guiliano Galoppo from River Plate.
10-month loan with a purchase option, provided Galoppo agrees to his personal terms.
@atlutdfantv on X
This was always going to happen after they brought in Alonso and Diaz. I really like what I’ve seen out of Diaz. Not sure about Alonso. Stian is too expensive to take a roster spot if he’s not an every match starter, though. No idea WTF is going on with Mihaj. He costs more and is worse than any CB we have. I thought he was getting moved to a club in Turkey, but I guess that fell through. I’m guessing they look to add a more cost-appropriate CB for depth this window, or maybe pull one off the free transfer heap after the window closes (still has to be before the roster freeze date in October)?
So from the starters, are Miggy and Mira the only ones left from the Lagerway contributions to this team?
Muyumba. Not sure if you count Alzate and Mihaj or not.
Not as starters, togashi is still on the bench as well. Muyumba has creeped his way back in the current line up, but I think he’ll be exiled as soon as Amaro shows up. I think the starters will end up being everyone new except for Miggy and Mira by seasons end.
No doubt Lagerway drove us into a ditch. I’m hopeful we’re starting to work our way out of it. TBD.
Stian (when available) was a top 5 CB in MLS, a lil maddening to see the way his time here ended. Sad to see him go 😔
Agree! He was arguably the best CB on the squad, came on late and helped shut down KC late surge to preserve the win. Clearly better than Alonso, and Mihaj should have been the one to go. Ugh.
Stian was the easiest to move. Mihaj is an albatross. Regardless, this all getting a bit fun. Looking forward to the next move(s). All signs point to a wing.
Hopefully more!
I like Gregersen a lot. But the first ability is availability, and that was a problem. And it’s hard to justify 900k for the late game sub/third CB, which is what he had become for Tata’s squad.
If I’m reading Roberson correctly this morning it looks like Alzate may be on the way out too.
Malmo is a big club. Not hard to think it’s a step up for him, as bad as AUFC has been the last few years.
Shame, would have preferred to move Mihaj
I was afraid this was going to happen, because Stian is far from being a south american footballer, but I wish him the best. Dude was a beast and his headers in that Columbus game will never be forgotten (and how the commentator responded to it…chills).
Just when we get to a good CB depth, we are now back to 3 CBs of which 2 have sketchy health history…Great…
To be fair, 3 with sketchy health issues is only marginally better. Jacob did a decent job when pressed into the CB position, but he has shown recently major growth at RB. Would love a 4th CB from our academy. Not familiar enough to know if we have any close.
I would agree with you, but if there was a homegrown CB that is close to being ready they would have already announced a homegrown deal. I also understand we have fullbacks who are capable of playing CB in a pinch like Hernandez or Jacob, but considering our CBs health history, we need more true CB depth.
hopefully the next signing is a CB who can remain healthy. Stian was good when he paid, but he was out injured a lot.
I understand your sentiment, and I’m sorry to see Gregersen go too. To be fair, having 2.5M tied in CB depth is not great either, not when we have such great need elsewhere on the team.
Not to mention he’s valuable enough to move on from to go get those reinforcements elsewhere so yeah, business wise, it’s a solid choice. And if the rumors about Alzate are accurate, he’s another that should fetch some money and interest too while we’ve made moves in those positions. Our CM depth is pretty good. So yeah, move some stuff around to go get some wingers is needed.
I don’t have any problems with selling players, but it would be nice to have another CB replacement in the works. I am not even asking for an expensive TAM level CB, just a MLS veteran who can play every once in a while. Considering the injury history of our CBs, I would rather have a 4th CB who can play whenever and not have one of our fullback play out of position for stretches.
I agree but do we need to go get this person, or can we simply acquire them? Guessing with Hernandez and Jacob in the mix, that may satisfy the requirement and while I don’t fully agree, I also understand.