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Roster architect and longest-tenured Charlotte FC employee Krneta signed to new multi-year contract
Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta had his contract extended. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
The first item on the offseason agenda for Charlotte FC, it turns out, was extending the contract of the man who will be reshaping the roster. General manager Zoran Krneta — owner David Tepper’s first hire after acquiring the expansion franchise in December of 2019 — just signed a new multi-year contract, the club announced Friday. The terms and length of the contract were not divulged.
Krneta took some early lumps, most notably going through two coaches in the first two seasons, and missed on some designated players, but he hit his stride with two big acquisitions in the past two years:
hiring former Premier League manager Dean Smith as Charlotte FC’s third head coach, and
acquiring star winger Wilfred Zaha, the former standout at Crystal Palace, as a designated player
Krneta also ventured into new territory for the club this summer, selling striker Patrick Agyemang and center back Adilson Malanda for a total of $16 million in transfer fees from clubs in the English Championship. They were by far the most lucrative sales Charlotte FC has managed in its first four seasons.
Krneta has overseen steady progression on the field as well. Charlotte FC is coming off a record-setting season with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, seventh overall finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings, 19 wins, 13 home wins, 55 goals scored and an MLS-record-tying nine-game win streak. Charlotte FC lost in the first round of the MLS playoffs for the second consecutive year.
“This club means a lot to me,” Krneta said. “I’m very happy in this city. I think the job is not finished. I think we can go in the next couple of years and establish ourselves as a real, true powerhouse of Major League Soccer.”
Krneta said he and owner David Tepper first broached the subject of a new contract in July and then followed it up with a conversation and a handshake in September.
“Zoran has been an integral part of Charlotte FC’s progression and success since the team was launched,” Tepper said in the release. “We look forward to having the club’s sporting operations continue under his leadership and vision as the league enters a pivotal period of growth.”
Fuchs leaving Charlotte FC for head job in U.K.
Christian Fuchs, who was the first face of Charlotte FC, is returning to the United Kingdom. The 39-year-old former defender, who won a Premier League title in 2016 with Leicester City and was a key figure on Charlotte’s inaugural 2022 team, is leaving as assistant coach to Dean Smith to join Newport County in Wales. The native Austrian takes over at the helm of a League Two club, which is the fourth tier in the English professional ranks. [Article updated 11/21/25 to correct location of Newport County team]
Fuchs has been a part of Charlotte FC’s coaching staff for the past three seasons since his decision to retire as a player after the 2022 season. His contagious personality helped market the new franchise, with in-person appearances and hysterical videos. On the field, he was the club’s first captain, and his leadership has continued over his three years on the sideline.
Krneta said Friday that Fuchs’ three-year contract with Charlotte expired in December and he had let the club know of his desire to become a head coach.
Departing Charlotte FC players
The club announced end-of-season roster decisions Friday, that included picking up the options for goalkeeper Drake Callender, midfielder Djibril Diani and forward Tyger Smalls. The club declined options for defenders Jahlane Forbes, Nick Scardina and Bill Tuiloma. Both reserve goalkeeper David Bingham and veteran midfielder Eryk Williamson had their contracts expire and depart as free agents. Fullback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty returns to CF Montreal after his loan expired. Charlotte FC is in discussions with forward Brandon Cambridge, who has an option for the 2026 season.
Charlotte FC heads into the winter with three players on designated player contracts: Zaha, who’s on loan through June 30; Pep Biel, who joins the roster on permanent transfer at the end of his loan; and Liel Abada, who is under contract through 2026, with an option for 2027. Abada underperformed this season and the club will likely look to sell him if opportunities arise.
“We expected more contribution from him, and I’m sure he’s disappointed himself in the season he had,” Krneta said. “I think it’s something we’re going to address over the next few months, but right now he’s our player and he is a quality player as well.”
Charlotte also has three players on Under 22 contracts: Idan Toklomati, Nikola Petkovia and Baye Coulibaly. Kerwin Vargas has aged out and rolled into a regular first-team contract.
Charlotte FC opens streaky 2026 schedule in St. Louis
With the World Cup coming to the United States next summer, the 2026 MLS schedule figured to be affected, and it’s proven to be. Charlotte FC announced this week it will open next season with two games on the road — Feb. 21 at St. Louis and Feb. 28 at L.A. Galaxy — to start a schedule that will feature two long stretches of home games in the first half of the season.
Charlotte will open its home schedule March 7 against Austin in one of five consecutive games at Bank of America Stadium. After three games on the road, Charlotte will then return home for another stretch of four consecutive home games before the schedule halts for the World Cup. That will give Charlotte 10 of 14 games at home at that point.
After nearly a two-month World Cup break from the end of May to late July, Charlotte FC will resume play again July 22 at home against rival Atlanta United. [For the full schedule, click here.] Krneta said the club will plan to give the team a few weeks off, then hold a “mini-preseason” with some exhibitions mixed in to get back into form.
“This is a very unique season for us,” Krneta said. “We will have to adapt. There’s no other way around it.”
The 2026 season will be the last year before MLS changes its schedule to align with the global soccer calendar.
Charlotte is hosting the 2026 MLS All-Star game at Bank of America Stadium, and MLS announced this week that would be held on July 29.
(Graphic of Charlotte FC’s 2026 schedule courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
5 ways new MLS schedule can benefit Charlotte FC
When Krneta talks about the benefits of aligning the MLS schedule with the international calendar in 2027, which MLS announced last week, he immediately points to how syncing up the transfer windows will give MLS clubs more leverage to buy and sell players, and therefore build better rosters. Here are 3 examples of Charlotte’s past transactions that would have benefited from the global schedule:
At the close of the summer transfer window in August of 2024, Charlotte was in the market for a DP-level central attacking midfielder. A transfer for Dutch midfielder Calvin Stengs fell through over his medical report. A deal for Paraguayan Miguel Almiron proved too costly. So Charlotte FC set its sights on Argentinian Giovani Lo Celso. Charlotte had until Aug. 14 to make a deal. The 28-year-old midfielder, playing for Tottenham of the English Premier League, wanted to keep his options open until the close of the European window more than two weeks later, Aug. 31. He ultimately signed with Spain’s Real Betis after Charlotte moved on, acquiring Biel from Greek club Olympiacos.
Charlotte FC had a significant offer this summer for Vargas, reportedly from a team in the first division in Portugal, but the club was not in a position to consider it because, with the transfer window closed, it couldn’t have replaced him for the stretch run and the playoffs. A deal like that could be made under the new format when there’s still a January window to add players for the second half of the season in the spring and the playoff run in May.
Players who come to Charlotte from overseas need time to acclimate to the new culture and league. When they’re acquired in the summer window, they’re not at the same midseason fitness levels as Charlotte FC players and need time to work into shape, not to mention acquire their visas. The result is that a player like Spaniard Pep Biel only had nine games left when he came to Charlotte FC in 2024. This season, English fullback Harry Toffolo injured his hamstring in his first full start, perhaps rushing to get to game fitness, and was only available for a handful of games at the end of the season.
No more confusion over midseason loans. Remember Karol Swiderski’s will-he-or-won’t-he-return from loan in Italy last year? Are you wondering what happens with Zaha next season when his loan expires at the World Cup break at the end of June? How weirdly timed was it to know that Pep Biel had to negotiate a new contract extension in the midst of his MVP-caliber first half of the season? A newly aligned schedule with the global calendar should take care of that.
Playing games while the rest of the world is on an international break should become a thing of the past as well. Stretches like June, when Charlotte lost to Philadelphia, Kansas City and Chicago and tied Orlando, while Patrick Agyemang and Tim Ream were with the U.S. Men’s National team in Gold Cup play. shouldn’t happen, or not nearly as often.
No wonder Smith said this when asked about his response to the new schedule: “I’m really pleased with it. If we want to be a competitive league with the top leagues in the world, then we had to move the calendar to compete with them, not only in the transfer market but also be playing the same time.”
Smith looking for more leadership from Zaha
While the club was measured in how it responded to Wilfried Zaha’s absence in Game 1 of the playoffs due to a red card suspension for a late booking against Philadelphia, Smith gave a glimpse into how he felt about it when he met with a small gathering of media on Wednesday.
Smith meets with each player 1-on-1 as he departs for the offseason and lays down expectations for what to work on during the winter and ways he can improve next season. When The Ledger asked what Smith told Zaha he could improve on heading into next season for Charlotte, Smith said:
I want him to be a better leader. On the pitch, he’s emotional, and I think sometimes if other players look at some of his emotions, they can see it another way, even though he means it well. That’s what we spoke about. I want him to be [an extension] of me on the pitch, and he was good with that.
Practice field renovation
While players scattered for an offseason break — Zaha took his family to Miami, for example, Archie Goodwin returned to his native Australia — the first team’s practice field at Atrium Health Performance Park is getting a complete overhaul. Construction began at the end of the regular season, as a new irrigation system and grading are installed.
Pictured is the entrance to Charlotte FC’s first team practice field at Atrium Health Performance Park under construction. (Photo by Carroll Walton)
Up Next
The free agent period opens on Dec. 10, and the 2026 SuperDraft of college players is Dec. 18. The MLS transfer window opens again in January. Fútbol Friday will take a pause for the offseason, with some cameo appearances as news develops. Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.
We are grateful for your readership!
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fourth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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