Oriol Rosell

BIOGRAPHY

Oriol "Uri" Rosell Argerich was born 7 July 1992 in Puig-reig, Spain. He is a defensive midfielder in Major League Soccer.

Born in Puig-reig, Barcelona, Catalonia, Rosell joined FC Barcelona's youth system in 2006, aged 14. He made his senior debuts on 14 January 2012, playing seven minutes in a 1–3 away loss against UD Las Palmas in Segunda División and appearing in a further five league games during the season.

Rosell signed with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer in August 2012, being given the number 20 and wearing "Uri" as his jersey name. He thus became the second player to graduate from Barcelona's La Masia and play in the competition, after Albert Celades. In just his second appearance for the team, on 1 September, he scored a game-winning goal against Toronto FC, netting in the 87th minute of a 2–1 home win.

Rosell made 31 appearances in 2013, heading a goal in a 3–1 win at the Philadelphia Unionin the first match of the campaign. However, in the championship game against Real Salt Lake on 7 December, he was replaced injured in the eighth minute, as his team eventually prevailed in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw.

On 5 April 2014, Rosell received a straight red card in a goalless draw against Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park for a foul on Devon Sandoval. On 10 May he set an MLS record, after completing 160 of 166 passes against the Montreal Impact.

On 3 June 2014, Kansas City and Sporting CP agreed to a transfer for Rosell. As per MLS rules, the terms of the deal were not disclosed. He made his debut on the first day of the season, coming on for the injured Cédric Soares at half-time of a 1–1 Primeira Liga draw at Académica de Coimbra.

On 30 January 2016, Rosell was loaned to fellow league team Vitória S.C. until the end of the season, playing sparingly for both them and their reserves in the Segunda Liga. He returned to the top flight for the following campaign, at Sporting's city neighbours C.F. Os Belenenses.

Still owned by Sporting, Rosell signed with Portimonense S.C. in late August 2017. He scored his first goal in Portuguese football on 30 October, helping the hosts defeat Vitória de Setúbal 5–2.

Rosell returned to MLS on 30 January 2018, when he signed with Orlando City SC via the Allocation Order. The team had acquired the top spot in the process by trading $400,000 in targeted allocation money to FC Dallas. He made his debut on 22 April, as a late substitute in a 3–2 home win over the San Jose Earthquakes.

Ahead of the 2020 season, Rosell agreed to a new two-year contract.

In December 2013, Rosell was called up by the unofficial Catalonia national team for its friendly match against Cape Verde at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona on the penultimate day of the year. He entered the field as a 68th-minute substitute.

Rosell publicly supported Catalan independence on several occasions, saying that he would refuse to play for Spain if requested. In 2014, he added that he would vote "Yes-Yes" in the Catalan self-determination referendum.

During his professional football career, Rosell studied for university qualifications in business, at the Chemical Institute of Sarrià and the University of Missouri–Kansas City.