Football
ESPN staff 8y

Real Salt Lake bring back Yura Movsisyan on loan

Armenia international Yura Movsisyan has returned for a second stint with Real Salt Lake.

The MLS club sealed the striker on loan from Spartak Moscow for the 2016 season. The Salt Lake Tribune reported the two sides will try to make the move permanent.

Movsisyan, 28, helped RSL win their only MLS Cup in 2009. 

"For me, it's been a long time I've been wanting to come back," said Movsisyan in a team statement. "Obviously Salt Lake was my first choice because it was such a great place for me and my family. I felt at home in Utah. Leaving with a championship -- I want to come back and do that again.

"I want to win more championships with Salt Lake -- with the club that I was part of the evolution. I was part of the team that went basically from the bottom to being champions. This is what I want to do again and what I'm excited about. For me, it's an amazing thing to come back."

Movsisyan was born in what is now Azerbaijan but went to high school in Pasadena, California. He played with Sporting Kansas City in 2006 and 2007, when he was traded to RSL. He spent the past five years playing in Denmark and Russia.

He scored 15 goals for Real Salt Lake in 2008 and 2009.

"Yura is a goalscorer," said RSL general manager Craig Waibel. "He's always been a goalscorer and statistically speaking, his numbers are undeniably productive no matter where he's played.

"He's at an age right now and at a point of his life right now, he had a priority with his wife that they wanted to move back to the States.

"Everything just added up to make sense for him to come. We have an undeniable interest to bring in good soccer players and goalscorers and Yura is one of those.

"We believe he's a double-digit goalscorer and we're really excited to get him back out on the field and start producing."

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