Andreas Maxsø won’t return to Rapids, club president Pádraig Smith says

The Great Dane s time in Colorado is over and a midfield mainstay may follow suit In a news conference on Thursday Colorado Rapids president P draig Smith stated center back Andreas Maxs will leave the club this offseason the first of what might turn into a series of offseason roster changes His guaranteed contract was up at the conclusion of this season but a club option could have kept him in Commerce City through The decision to part options was mutual Smith reported his preferred destination is somewhere in Europe where the Danish international could be closer to family Before joining the Rapids he had a long career in Denmark and a scarce short stints elsewhere in Europe that included a Danish Superliga title in The Middle East is also on the table last offseason there was a rumored move to Saudi Arabia Maxs was by far the majority available athlete on the association since his arrival in Of a realizable regular-season games over the program of three seasons he started all of his appearances He played all minutes in all but one of those matches a th-minute exit in an early- win at Sporting Kansas City The -year-old completed his Colorado tenure with three goals and an assist Defensively he wasn t spectacular certainly not enough to justify a Designated Player contract upon his arrival and a million per year salary According to American Soccer Analysis he was the third-worst center back in the league in terms of goals added - an advanced stat that measures a athlete s on-ball impact on attacking and defending The numbers aren t much nicer on FBRef On a positive note his -foot- brick-wall frame made his aerial tournament a plus he was in the nd percentile this season for percentage of aerial duels won He was in the top in blocked shots and challenges lost Other than that he was in the bottom quarter of nearly every other defensive metric FBRef tracks Rob Holding was brought in late this season and now appears to be Maxs s replacement They re on the same salary and have a lot of the same traits though Holding is a better passer Otherwise the Rapids have a wealth of young options at center back for next season including Ian Murphy Noah Cobb if his purchase option is picked up Nate Jones and Lucas Herrington who will join the squad this offseason after being signed in August Larraz likely to test free agency Smith also commented Rapids midfielder Oliver Larraz may test free agency this offseason with his contract up The Denver native burst onto the scene in winning a starting position in a deep room full of defensive midfielders A rash of injuries gave Larraz a chance early on in his first season with the first association but now-former coach Chris Armas couldn t keep him off the field He played at a Best-XI level as a No with Rapids in then transitioned to a deeper more defensive role with the senior gang His adaptability and consistency in that new role were both pluses Those characteristics are a must in Europe where he plans to look for a new opportunity I think Oli really wants to look at what his foreseen is in Europe and he obviously has every right to do that Smith explained Oli is someone who we highly value as a local kid who s come up through our academy They re the type of players that we like to keep here Related Articles Colorado Rapids end-of-season salary account issued by MLSPA Colorado Rapids Chris Armas mutually part approaches as contract expires Rapids season ends on last-minute equalizer by LAFC Rapids lose at Real Salt Lake retain Rocky Mountain Cup but fall out of playoff spot Rapids to face rival Real Salt Lake with playoff hopes trophy front and center He was another of the Rapids the bulk available players in his two years with the first organization appearing in all games starts in and playing in all but one in Across all competitions he scored two of the more memorable goals of the campaign One was in the third-place match of Leagues Cup where he used a perfect strike on a half-volley to tie the match at -all on the way to a penalty-shootout mastery The other was a strike from distance in an otherwise forgettable playoff series against the L A Galaxy the only goal from a two-game stretch the Rapids lost - He recorded a career-high four assists this season in minutes Ten other Rapids either have club options to return for or are out of contract entirely The deadline to exercise or decline those options is Nov Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams