Former Minnesota United winger Miguel Ibarra has signed a contract with the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders, a source confirmed Tuesday to the Pioneer Press.

Ibarra played 84 MLS games with the Loons from 2017-19, but the club declined his contract option for 2020 season. He had seven goals and eight assists in 33 games in 2018, but produced just one goal and two assists in 22 games last year.

Despite that drop, Seattle, one of the most successful clubs in MLS, sees qualities in Ibarra and invited him to join the team’s preseason work in Mexico ahead of the Sounders’ play in the Concacaf Champions League in Honduras on Thursday. Related Articles Minnesota United acquires striker Kei Kamara in trade with Colorado

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Ibarra, whose deal was first reported by MSG Network’s Kristian Dyer, will come with the Sounders to Allianz Field for an MLS game on Aug. 16; Loons play at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on July 5.

Ibarra was a star for Minnesota during its NASL era, earning the nickname “Batman” to teammate Christian Ramirez’s “Superman.” Ibarra was the league’s leading scorer and named to the Best XI team across 2013-14. In 2014, he became the first player from the lower division to be called up to the U.S. men’s national team since 2005; he played three games in red, white and blue.

He was transferred from Minnesota to Club Leon in Mexico’s Liga MX for about $1 million in June 2015, then returned to Minnesota when the Loons entered MLS in 2017.