Diego Valeri signs contract extension with the Portland Timbers

The Portland Timbers have agreed to a contract extension with midfielder Diego Valeri. With Valeri now a household name in Portland, fans will be pleased to know that their star player will continue to represent the Rose City through the 2019 Major League Soccer season.

Valeri has blossomed in Portland

The Argentine midfielder first joined the Timbers in 2013 following ten years with his hometown club Lanús. Valeri largely came to Portland to escape the violence of Buenos Aires and raise his daughter Constanza in a safer location. Since joining as a relatively unknown player, he has blossomed into the Timbers greatest player since joining MLS. Diego holds club MLS era records for assists (40), shots (316), and shots on target (117). It's no doubt that when Valeri's career comes to an end his jersey will be hanging in the rafters next to the club's pre-MLS legends.

Valeri's honors don't stop at the club level. In 2013, he earned the MLS Newcomer of the Year award and was selected for the MLS Best XI. In 2014 he was again selected for the MLS Best XI, was named the Timbers Supporters Player of the Year, and started in the 2014 MLS All-Star Game against Bayern Munich. At the All-Star game, he provided an assist for Robbie Keane in the 70th minute to win the match. In 2015, the midfielder was named the MLS Cup MVP after scoring the fastest ever goal in the MLS Cup Final and leading his team to victory. This season Valeri was named to the 2016 MLS All-Star roster but was kept inactive.