After revealing last week that defender Harrison Afful was out of contract but in negotiations, the Crew announced Wednesday that it had re-signed its starting right back.

Per Major League Soccer policy, terms of the contract were not released.

In 2019, Afful’s base salary was $288,099, with a guaranteed compensation of $363,799, according to salary data released in September by the players’ union.

>>Join our Columbus Crew SC Fans Facebook group for the latest news, updates and to join in on the conversation.

Afful started in 22 games and made two assists in 2019. He missed 11 games because of a broken jaw. He has played 117 games with 114 starts for the Crew since making the move to MLS in July 2015.

Afful, 33, said he still thinks he has more to give and hasn’t begun to think about how many more years he has remaining in his career.

“Age is just a number,” Afful said. “The determination and the belief I have in myself, I know I can play for a longer time. The most important thing is I'll take good care of myself, make sure I do the right thing at the right time.”

With the re-signing of Afful, the Crew has 19 players on its roster out of 30 available spots.

At the end of the season, Afful said technical director Pat Onstad expressed that the club wanted to pick up his contract option. He then consulted with his family, his agent and eventually the sides came to an agreement without any significant delay.

Coach Caleb Porter said age doesn’t play as much of a factor as some think. He saw no reason to believe Afful couldn’t continue to play at a high level.

“Harry has proven that he can do it, and he looks young,” Porter said. “Forget age, he can do it and he's proven to be one of the better right backs in the league. He fits our profile and we're happy to have him back.”

The Crew signed Chris Cadden, 23, this summer and sent him on loan until the 2020 preseason when he’s projected to be Afful’s backup. Afful said it’s not up to him whether he finishes his career with the Crew. All he can do is continue to perform when he gets the opportunity.

“I believe me coming here (that) I did the right thing 'cause back home, people always say coming into the MLS, it's like you're coming to retire or something,” Afful said. “But when I came here I saw a different picture. The people of Columbus accepted me.”

jmyers@dispatch.com

@Jacob_Myers_25