MLS mistakenly posts erroneous story about Kyogo Furuhashi transfer to Atlanta United

Major League Soccer was forced to apologize after its website published the name of a player it incorrectly claimed was joining Atlanta United. 

A story posted Wednesday indicated that Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi would be coming stateside to play for Atlanta, though it was eventually removed from the league website.

In a statement on Thursday, MLS tried to make amends with the “impacted parties.”

“Major League Soccer’s website mistakenly posted an article that named the wrong player as having signed with an MLS club,” the league said in a statement. “The article was immediately removed and corrected. MLS extends its sincere apologies to the impacted parties.”

Last month, the Daily Mail reported that Atlanta United had submitted a $12 million transfer offer for the 29-year-old Furuhashi. 

Some of the confusion stemmed from a post on social media by the MLS Club, according to ESPN, where it teased news of a player signing involving a player from Japan. 

It turned out the player news was the addition of Sagan Tosu forward Cayman Togashi. 

Coincidentally, Atlanta hired former Celtic boss and NYCFC coach Ronny Deila in December. 

Furuhashi was in action for Celtic on Wednesday, as he came off the bench in the second half of the Celtic 2-0 win over Dundee United. 

Furuhashi has 10 goals and three assists this season across all competitions.

The start of the MLS season is a little more than a month away, with Atlanta slated to open its 2025 campaign at home against Montreal.