The Weekly Dis

The Athletic's Tom Bogert, who is always very busy between trips to the barber, was the first to report that the Max Arfsten-to-Middlesbrough deal was done. Although the deal was rumored for about as long as the span between Anschluss (March, 1938) and the invasion of Poland (September, 1939), full marks to hirsute harbinger of MLS transactions.

Bogert's numbers – a transfer fee of up to $7.5 million with add-ons, plus "significant" sell-on rights – are spot-on, which is not a surprise. If you follow @tombogert on the BlueSky, you understand the man hits for a very high average.

Arfsten fetches the third-highest transfer fee ever reeled in by the Crew after Cucho Hernandez ($16 million from Real Betis of La Liga) and Diego Rossi ($8 million +/- from Monterey of Liga MX).

Arfsten was basically poached from the San Jose Earthquakes, who had him with their MLS NextPro team. He was exposed to the MLS draft in 2023, and the Crew selected him with the No. 14 overall pick. A two-footed player who can manage either flank, he quickly turned into a potent substitute in the Black & Gold's run to the MLS Cup.

In 2024, Arfsten claimed a starting role as the left back under coach Wilfried Nancy. The Crew added a Leagues Cup championship. From there, Arfsten was on the radar of U.S. national coach Mauricio Pochettino, who invited Arfsten to camp in January 2025 and gave him a prominent role in that summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.

Arfsten, 25, made the U.S. World Cup squad this year (although he made just one brief appearance over five games). Reports that Middlesbrough was pursuing Arfsten date back to last year, and they intensified over the World Cup.

Arfsten never shied away from saying that he wanted to test his mettle overseas. In an interview with Disrespected Media earlier this year, he said he wanted to "play against the best players in the world."

Presumably, he crossed the pond Wednesday night. In Middlesbrough, he will join midfielders Aidan Morris and Sebastian Berhalter – two Crew homegrown players who formed bonds of friendship in Columbus.

Rossi, who was sold to Monterrey last month, and Wessam Abou Ali, who blew out his knee in the seventh game of the season, are the Crew's leading scorers with six and five goals, respectively. Next is Arfsten with four goals (and four assists). They're all gone now, which leaves Daniel Gazdag on top of the Crew's goal list with three.

Will Lionel Messi be in the Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami lineup tonight?

The Crew are 2-1-1 under Courtois. In their last outing, they looked very Nancy-like (for long stretches) in posting a 2-1 victory over their archrivals, the Cincinnati FCs.

Tonight, the Crew are at new Nu Stadium to take on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

After a two-week, post-World-Cup break, Messi (and fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul) returned to practice with the Roster Rulebreakers. When, exactly? It's unclear. "A bit ago," said interim coach Guillermo Hoyos, who has led Miami to six consecutive victories and has the Beckham Neck Tattoos in second place in the East.

Hoyos said he has yet to have a "proper conversation" with Messi about a return date. Hoyos was not asked whether he has had any improper conversations with Messi.

It is unclear whether Messi and De Paul will play tonight.

Tori Penso will be the central referee. That's all we can say for sure.

Miami DP forward German Berterame, who needed to be stretchered off and hospitalized after a crack in the head last game, is not expected to play vs. the Crew. It should be noted, however, that Berterame did not appear on the official player availability report the team issued to the league. Which is as follows:

• QUESTIONABLE: Maxi Falcon (leg)
• QUESTIONABLE: Gonzalo Lujan (leg)
• QUESTIONABLE: Sergio Reguilon (hamstring)

(Defender Ian Fray and midfielder Telasco Segovia are suspended for yellow card accumulation. That's on a separate report.)

Miami lists nobody – not Messi, not De Paul, not Beckham – as being "out."

According to the Crew's availability report, only Abou Ali is listed as "out." Nobody is listed as "questionable," an indication that midfielder Taha Haboune is feeling better after a Cincinnati goon attempted to compound-fracture his leg during Hell is Real last weekend.

The Crew have their question marks, however. They have two incoming transfers – a designated player, attacking midfielder Brais Mendez, and a young winger, Lautaro Giaccone – who only have a week or so of practice under their belts. Outside back Andrés Herrera, whose contract was finally purchased from Real Plate, also had to travel the winding paper trail that leads to a work visa. Like the other two, we can't know how fit he is.

It's likely all three are available for selection vs. Miami. How many minutes will Courtois give them? That is the question.

This is a team still in transition (as the lineup cards below show). More than a third of the roster has turned over since January. I forgot to even mention center back Eric Bailly, the former Manchester United player who is on his way to CBus via a free transfer. As of this moment, I have no specific update on Bailly, who was acquired two weeks ago.

Crew GM Issa Tall remains active in the transfer market. Here at Disrespected Media, we've been for more than two weeks cataloguing and checking reports about how the Crew and Argentinos Juniors are close to a loan agreement that would bring Chilean forward Gonzalo Tapia to Columbus. More recent reports say the deal is done.

I've yet to confirm anything other than there has been progress in the negotiations, and that it'd be premature to say "done."

A new Moon rises above Killbuck Creek

And the Blue Jackets gut McElligott

The Arace family, or a fraction thereof, snuck off for a few days to watch the soybeans grow. Thus, the Cannon Balls and The Crewcible podcasts were on hiatus.

The pods will be back soon to cover Adam Fantilli (when will he sign?), Dmitri Voronkov (did he follow his off-season workout regimen?) and other Jackets topics, as well as news from Messiami (big game before Leagues Cup), Gianni Infantino (a danger to global soccer, and perhaps humanity itself) and other things Crew.

The big Blue Jackets news this week was the decision to dump their radio voice, Bob McElligott, for the sake of simulcasting.

We can talk until we're Union Blue in the face about the litany of poor judgement calls made on the hockey operations side since the team's inaugural season of 2000-01, but the public-facing side of the organization has rarely misstepped. Getting rid of McElligott is beyond a misstep; it is an affront to the team's most ardent fans.

If you're not a paid subscriber and you missed my rant on the subject, I removed the paywall from this column last night. Have at it.

Blue Jackets perform a McElligectomy and cut out a part of the franchise’s soul

Farewell, Bob McElligott, who took Blue Jackets fans into the kitchen and fed them. He has been chopped. Also: MLS weighs in on Crew-FC brouhaha.

The DisrespectedMichael Arace

Pure class

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The Disrespected

Michael Arace covers pro sports in flyover country. Welcome to Columbus, the Blue Jackets and the Crew.

The DisrespectedMichael Arace