Toronto

Hidden away at the Kia training ground last October, it was hard not to chuckle.

Some of us did, I recall, during Toronto FC’s end-of-season pressers.

There were smirks after listening to Stefan Frei’s eulogy, and furious tweeting at Richard Eckersley’s bewilderment.

After a disgruntled Danny Koevermans completed his woe-is-me spiel that day, it seemed TFC wasn’t close to where rookie head coach Ryan Nelsen promised they’d be 10 months earlier.

Having just watched the Reds complete a 6-17-11 season, winning two of their final 12 matches, scoring less than a goal per game on the year, the half-filled room of media members had good reason to question TFC’s direction.

“We are very close,” Nelsen said with a straight face at the time. “It doesn’t take too much to turn a team around.”

The club’s head honcho, Tim Leiweke, had echoed his coach’s position.

Now, less than three months later, Toronto FC is set to unveil one of the biggest signings in MLS history.

As the Toronto Sun first reported in mid-December, Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will be unveiled as TFC’s newest Designated Player at the Trump Hotel in downtown Toronto on Monday, completing a three-month pursuit that publicly kicked off at the end of October.

Since then, the conversation surrounding the 31-year-old Defoe’s impending arrival has garnered international attention.

Shortly after the Sun confirmed Defoe’s arrival, the Daily Mirror detailed TFC’s star-studded courtship of the English international, a process kick-started by Canadian rapper — and Toronto native — Drake.

According to reports, Defoe was blown away that Drake, an MLSE ambassador, reached out to him in an effort to convince him of an MLS move.

On top of that, Defoe is likely to collect between $6-9 million a season, digits that would make him among the highest-paid MLSers ever on a list that includes league legends David Beckham and Thierry Henry.

TFC sent out a cheeky marketing campaign Wednesday to let ticket holders know they got their man.

With that kind of cash coming in annually over what’s believed to be a four-year deal, TFC’s newest poacher will have dollar signs in his eyes when he arrives in Ontario on the weekend.

“I can sleep really well at night knowing the situation we are in now,” Nelsen said in advance of Toronto’s transformational off-season.

And he had that aura of confidence well before an even bigger jaw-dropper broke a few hours after TFC made Defoe’s arrival official.

After announcing one of the biggest signings in the league’s 19-year history on Wednesday, Toronto FC then reportedly made the biggest signing in league history.

Michael Bradley, who appeared for A.S. Roma in Toronto in last summer’s friendly, will join Toronto FC on a $10 million-plus transfer from the Serie A side, according to multiple ESPN reports.

The Reds are expected to pay him $5-7 million a season over five to six years.

To put that into perspective, between Defoe and Bradley, Toronto FC is shelling out roughly $80-100 million in transfer fees and salaries alone.

That’s roughly as much as half of Major League Baseball team payrolls annually.

“As I’ve said before, we are working this off-season to return the magic to BMO Field, and for that to happen, we need you there,” general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told season-ticket holders this week.

“We look forward to sharing this season with you, and as always, we thank you for your support.”

After TFC’s sixth key off-season addition, it’s easy to send that kind of note to shareholders.

In addition to Defoe and Bradley, the Reds have bolstered their back four with Justin Morrow, and strengthened their midfield with Dwayne De Rosario and Jackson, who arrived during the off-season in a trade from Dallas.

Oh, and there’s also that other million-dollar player, Gilberto.

And with that, TFC fans are officially drooling.

Under the two Tims, the Reds have quickly become the marquee team not only in Canada, but in all of North America.

By Wednesday night, fans around MLS were scouring their calendars to see when the Reds are coming to town.

This time, however, it’s no longer to laugh at them.

It’s to envy them.