Felipe Carballo is on the move again, leaving Porto Alegre for another stint in the United States. Grêmio has signed off on a loan deal that will send the midfielder to the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer, running until the end of this year. The agreement includes an option to buy once the loan wraps up. Talks had been underway since early in the week, but the Brazilian club waited to make it public until every last detail was settled. For Carballo, it’s a quick return to the North American league, his second in less than a year.
A quick return to MLS
Carballo isn’t walking into unfamiliar territory. Earlier in 2024, from the start of the season until midyear, he was with the New York Red Bulls, also on loan. That spell ended on June 30, when his contract with the New York club expired, and he headed back to Grêmio. Since rejoining, he’s been training regularly at the Luiz Carvalho facility while waiting to see where he’d end up. Still, in the month since his return, he didn’t make the matchday squad for any official games, which pretty much signaled another move was on the way.
Time at Grêmio and earlier career
The Uruguayan midfielder arrived at Grêmio toward the end of 2022, coming from Nacional, the club where he’d come through the youth system. It didn’t take long for him to earn a starting spot. In that first season, he racked up 55 appearances, scored two goals, and set up another. Then came 2024, and with it, a pubis injury that required surgery and kept him out for months. He didn’t get back on the field until May, and that was only shortly before being loaned out again.
Earlier in his career, he’d also spent time with Sevilla’s B team in Spain, before returning to Uruguay and eventually moving to Brazil. His current contract with Grêmio runs through 2026, which means that if Portland decides not to activate the purchase option, he could be back in Porto Alegre when the new season rolls around.
A pragmatic move for both sides
This deal is, more than anything, a practical decision. From Grêmio’s point of view, Carballo isn’t seen as a central figure in the squad right now, so moving him on frees up roster space and lightens the wage bill. For the player, it’s a shot at consistent playing time and a more prominent role in a setting that plays to his strengths.
If Portland chooses to buy and Carballo gets back to the form he showed in 2023, Grêmio might end up wondering if they let a potentially key player slip away. Until then, the only thing that’s certain is that the next chapter of the Uruguayan’s career will be written far from Porto Alegre.