O Captain: RSL extends Damir Kreilach's stay through 2024 season
The 33-year-old midfielder has found a home in Salt Lake City, and will stick around for at least two more years.
Damir Kreilach isn’t going anywhere.
The veteran midfielder has signed a contract extension with Real Salt Lake through the 2024 season, the club announced Thursday evening, keeping the team captain in Salt Lake City for at least two more years.
The 33-year-old native of Vukovar, Croatia is now in his sixth season in Major League Soccer, having totaled 126 total games and nearly 11,000 minutes. He ranks fourth in RSL club history with 44 goals, seventh with 24 assists, third with 12 game-winning goals, fourth with eight game-winning assists and tied for third with four multi-goal games, and was a key factor in extending the club’s season-opening win streak in 2023.
But Kreilach’s significance to the club goes well beyond the box score, into the locker room, and often times the stands at the RioT at America First Field and into the community. Almost universally beloved for his standing in the community, Kreilach adapted quickly to Utah and his made a second home on the Wasatch Front, embracing the community and even using his own resources to buy single-game tickets distributed to fans who couldn’t otherwise afford to see a game in the club’s “Kreilach’s Corner.”
“First of all, on behalf of the team, I want to say huge thank you for fans’ support as our 12th man,” said Kreilach, who is expected to make his 127th start in MLS play Saturday, per the team release. “Every single game, there is nothing nicer than playing at America First Field and having a sold-out stadium. Our fans show every season that everything is possible and huge respect to them. I’m grateful to have everyone on our side and to have our back in each year’s ups-and-downs.
“All of us, we have responsibility to bring the quality on the field and at the end of the day to secure the results that everyone expects.”
The feeling of re-signing with the club was of strong interest for both the player and the man in the community he has come to symbolize, RSL general manager Elliot Fall said.
“We are thrilled to keep Dami the player on the field in Salt Lake for several more years on an extended deal,” Fall said. “And our Club is even more ecstatic to keep Damir the phenomenal leader and person attached to our organization for even longer.”
The Kreilach Kid isn’t going anywhere.