Mexican club Monarcas Morelia announced the departure of Peru international Raul Ruidiaz to the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night, though the MLS club's coach said the deal is not yet complete.
Although ESPN previously reported that the Sounders were set to move for Ruidiaz, boss Brian Schmetzer said he was not aware that any deal had been done.
Speaking after Seattle's 2-1 defeat away to the New York Red Bulls, Schmetzer said he would await confirmation from his club.
Así como brillaste aquí, brillarás en la ciudad Esmeralda 🙌🏻@raulruidiazm se convierte en el nuevo jugador franquicia de @SoundersFC, ¡tu huella quedará marcada en nuestra historia! pic.twitter.com/c5tbYwJmmz
— Monarcas Morelia (@FuerzaMonarca) June 14, 2018
"I'm not aware of that tweet, so thank you for letting me know," Schmetzer said. "I'll have to obviously get it from my upper management or my people before I take their word.
"We hope to have a player of his calibre join our team, for sure, but I'll wait until it's official."
Sources told ESPN Deportes earlier this month that Ruidiaz, who is playing with Peru at the World Cup, was set to move to Seattle for a transfer fee of $7.5 million -- quite large by MLS standards -- after no Mexican club made an offer for him in the recent Liga MX draft.
The 27-year-old should receive a designated player contract with a salary in excess of $2.4 million, which will put him within the top 10 best-paid players in MLS, sources said.
The Sounders might wait to announce the deal until Peru is finished in Russia, and Ruidiaz can fly to the U.S. to complete a medical and sign his new contract.