San Diego FC exercises buy option for David Vazquez

David Vazquez’s move to San Diego FC has been made permanent.

The Western Conference regular season champions exercised the buy option in their loan deal for the midfielder, agreeing to send the Philadelphia Union a guaranteed $250,000 in cash with an additional $250,000 in incentives tied to performance metrics.

The Union will also receive a sell-on percentage on any future transfers for the 19-year-old.

Vazquez was signed to a first team contract with the Union in April 2024 after the Union paid an undisclosed fee to both LAFC and LA Galaxy for his MLS rights.

The Los Angeles native made 14 starts for Union II in MLS Next Pro across the 2025 season and made his first team debut against Columbus Crew on June 29 but was sent to San Diego FC on loan in late July. The Union received $100,000 in general allocation money for the loan, which included a buy option.

Vazquez is the third player the Union have received cash for within the league since the initiative launched in January 2025. They received $4 million guaranteed from Columbus for Daniel Gazdag in April and $2.1 million guaranteed from Houston Dynamo for Jack McGlynn in February. MLS limits teams to two incoming and two outgoing cash for players transfers a season.