The Crew is set to sell defender Giancarlo Gonzalez to Italian club Palermo for a record-breaking fee. Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said yesterday that Gonzalez was on a flight to Italy to take a physical and finish paperwork. Once that is complete, the Costa Rican World Cup star will be sold for what Berhalter said will be the highest transfer fee for a defender in Major League Soccer history.

The Crew is set to sell defender Giancarlo Gonzalez to Italian club Palermo for a record-breaking fee.

Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said yesterday that Gonzalez was on a flight to Italy to take a physical and finish paperwork. Once that is complete, the Costa Rican World Cup star will be sold for what Berhalter said will be the highest transfer fee for a defender in Major League Soccer history.

�Obviously, we�re going to miss Giancarlo,� Berhalter said. �We were expecting him to be able to perform and to showcase his talents. What it does here is we establish ourselves as an environment that can increase the value of players. That�s key in this thing.�

According to a league source, the transfer fee was $5 million, which will be split among the Crew, MLS and Gonzalez�s previous club, Valerenga of Norway�s first division.

Berhalter would not confirm the transfer fee amount but said the money would be used to bolster scouting and the Crew�s academy system in order to produce more players of Gonzalez�s caliber. Gonzalez�s guaranteed salary for 2014 was listed at $243,750 by the MLS Players Union, and the Crew is believed to have paid a $250,000 transfer fee to acquire him.

Gonzalez started all 17 games for which he was available for the Crew and scored his first goal in his final game, a 4-1 win over Los Angeles on Aug. 16. He was in uniform at practice on Friday before the final pieces of the deal fell into place early yesterday.

Although Fulham of the English Football League Championship was known to have offered Gonzalez a contract, Berhalter said Palermo was one of the first teams to contact the Crew after the World Cup.

Crew midfielder/defender Hector Jimenez said that Gonzalez remained committed to his teammates despite facing an uncertain future.

�It�s crazy, but a guy like that deserves it,� Jimenez said of the attention Gonzalez had received. �He�s very humble, hard-working, and someone like him deserves everything that�s coming. He has more just concentrated (on) the things he can take care of, and that�s coming out here and playing well.�

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy