| Club: | Atlanta United FC |
| Season: | 2021 |
| Chrtitle: | President |
| Chairman: | Darren Eales |
| Owner: | Arthur Blank |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Gabriel Heinze (until July 18) Rob Valentino (interim, from July 18 to August 12) Gonzalo Pineda (from August 12) |
| League: | MLS |
| League Result: | Eastern Conference: 5th Overall: 9th |
| Cup1: | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Canceled |
| Cup3: | CONCACAF Champions League |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Marcelino Moreno (7) |
| Largest Win: | ATL 4–0 CIN (9/16, MLS) |
| Largest Loss: | ATL 0–3 PHI (4/27, CCL) CHI 3–0 ATL (7/3, MLS) |
| Pattern La1: | _borderonblack |
| Pattern B1: | _atlanta21H |
| Pattern Ra1: | _borderonblack |
| Pattern Sh1: | _atlanta19h |
| Pattern So1: | _3_stripes_red |
| Leftarm1: | a0000d |
| Body1: | 000000 |
| Rightarm1: | a0000d |
| Shorts1: | 000000 |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Pattern La2: | _atlanta20a |
| Pattern B2: | _atlanta20A |
| Pattern Ra2: | _atlanta20a |
| Pattern So2: | _atlanta20a |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | FFFFFF |
| Socks2: | FFFFFF |
| Pattern La3: | _atlanta21t |
| Pattern B3: | _atlanta21t |
| Pattern Ra3: | _atlanta21t |
| Pattern Sh3: | _adidasshortonblack |
| Pattern So3: | _atlanta21t |
| Leftarm3: | 6e303d |
| Body3: | 6e303d |
| Rightarm3: | 6e303d |
| Shorts3: | d26c53 |
| Socks3: | 6e303d |
| American: | true |
| Prevseason: | 2020 |
| Nextseason: | 2022 |
The 2021 Atlanta United FC season was the fifth season of Atlanta United FC's existence, and the thirteenth year that a professional soccer club from Atlanta, Georgia competing in the top division of American soccer. Atlanta United played their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Due to the cancelation of the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, Atlanta competed in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League as the final berth was given to the defending champions of the U.S. Open Cup.[1]
| Squad no. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||
| 1 | Brad Guzan (C) | GK | 9 September 1984 | Middlesbrough | 158 | 0 | |
| 18 | Ben Lundgaard | GK | 25 September 1995 | Atlanta United 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25 | Alec Kann | GK | 8 August 1990 | Sporting Kansas City | 30 | 0 | |
| Defenders | |||||||
| 2 | Ronald Hernández | RB | 21 September 1997 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Alex DeJohn | CB | 10 May 1991 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 4 | RB | 8 February 1997 | 79 | 4 | |||
| 6 | Alan Franco | CB | 11 October 1996 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 11 | RB | 22 September 1997 | 62 | 2 | |||
| 12 | Miles Robinson (GA) | CB | 14 March 1997 | 108 | 2 | ||
| 21 | George Bello (HGP) | LB | 22 January 2002 | 59 | 3 | ||
| 24 | Josh Bauer | CB | 22 July 1998 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Bryce Washington (HGP) | CB | 12 September 1998 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 32 | George Campbell (HGP) | CB | 22 June 2001 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 33 | Mikey Ambrose | LB | 5 October 1993 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Midfielders | |||||||
| 5 | Santiago Sosa | DM | 3 May 1999 | River Plate | 30 | 1 | |
| 8 | Ezequiel Barco (DP) | AM | 23 March 1999 | 107 | 19 | ||
| 9 | Matheus Rossetto | AM | 3 June 1996 | Athletico Paranaense | 39 | 0 | |
| 10 | Marcelino Moreno | CM | 25 June 1994 | Lanús | 43 | 11 | |
| 13 | Amar Sejdič | CM | 29 November 1996 | CF Montréal | 10 | 0 | |
| 14 | DM | 28 April 2001 | Argentinos Juniors | 19 | 0 | ||
| 19 | Luiz Araújo (DP) | RW | 2 June 1996 | Lille | 16 | 4 | |
| 20 | Emerson Hyndman | CM | 7 April 1996 | AFC Bournemouth | 56 | 6 | |
| 22 | Jürgen Damm | RW | 7 November 1992 | UANL | 27 | 1 | |
| 23 | AM | 5 April 1996 | Hearts | 47 | 2 | ||
| 28 | Tyler Wolff (HGP) | RW | 13 February 2003 | Atlanta United Academy | 12 | 0 | |
| 29 | Mo Adams (GA) | CM | 23 September 1996 | Chicago Fire FC | 28 | 1 | |
| 30 | Machop Chol (HGP) | RW | 14 November 1998 | Wake Forest University | 9 | 0 | |
| Forwards | |||||||
| 7 | Josef Martínez (DP) | CF | 19 May 1993 | Torino | 132 | 102 | |
| 16 | CF | 27 November 2001 | 20 | 1 | |||
| 31 | Erick Torres | CF | 19 January 1993 | Tijuana | 36 | 1 | |
| 36 | Jackson Conway (HGP) | CF | 3 December 2001 | 9 | 2 | ||
Atlanta currently has ten International Roster Slots for use in the 2021 season. Matheus Rossetto obtained a green card in April 2021 to qualify as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[2]
| Player | Country | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luiz Araújo |  Brazil | |
| 2 | Jürgen Damm |  Mexico | |
| 3 | Alan Franco |  Argentina | |
| 4 | Ronald Hernández |  Venezuela | |
| 5 | Franco Ibarra | Argentina | |
| 6 | Erik López | Paraguay | |
| 7 | Marcelino Moreno | Argentina | |
| 8 | Jake Mulraney |  Ireland | |
| 9 | Santiago Sosa | Argentina | |
| 10 | Anton Walkes | England |
See main article: 2021 Major League Soccer season.
See main article: 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.
See main article: 2021 U.S. Open Cup.
See main article: 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.
|-! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers|-! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders|-! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders|-! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards|-! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Players who have played for Atlanta United this season but have left the club:|}
| width=30 | Place | width=30 | Position | width=175 | Name | width=75 | width=75 | width=75 | width=75 | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | Josef Martínez | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||||||
| 2 | MF | Marcelino Moreno | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |||||||
| 3 | MF | Ezequiel Barco | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |||||||
| 4 | MF | Luiz Araújo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||||
| 5 | DF | Anton Walkes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
| 6 | DF |  George Bello | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| DF | George Campbell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| FW | Jackson Conway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| MF | Jürgen Damm | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| DF | Ronald Hernández | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| MF | Emerson Hyndman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| FW | Erik López | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| MF | Jake Mulraney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| DF | Miles Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| MF | Santiago Sosa | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Own Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||
| Total | 45 | 0 | 3 | 48 | |||||||||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Type | US | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | FW | Loan return | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| 30 | MF | Loan return | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| — | MF | Loan return | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| 36 | FW | Transfer | US | December 3, 2020 | [4] | |||
| 33 | DF | Transfer | US | Free | December 22, 2020 | [5] | ||
| 35 | DF | Atlanta United Academy | Transfer | US | January 1, 2021 | [6] | ||
| 16 | FW | Transfer | Non-US | Free | January 1, 2021 | [7] [8] | ||
| 30 | MF | Transfer | US | January 19, 2021 | [9] | |||
| 15 | FW | Transfer | Non-US | Free | January 25, 2021 | [10] | ||
| 5 | MF | Transfer | Non-US | Undisclosed | February 12, 2021 | [11] | ||
| 14 | MF | Transfer | Non-US | Undisclosed | February 22, 2021 | [12] | ||
| 18 | GK | Transfer | US | Free | March 4, 2021 | [13] | ||
| — | DF | Transfer | US | Undisclosed | March 9, 2021 | [14] | ||
| 3 | DF | Transfer | US | Free | March 12, 2021 | [15] | ||
| 26 | DF | Transfer | US | Free | April 5, 2021 | [16] | ||
| 6 | DF | Transfer | Non-US | $2.8 Million (DP) | April 8, 2021 | [17] | ||
| 24 | DF | Transfer | US | Draft Pick | April 15, 2021 | [18] | ||
| 27 | DF | Transfer | US | June 4, 2021 | [19] | |||
| 13 | MF | Trade | US | $100K GAM | July 6, 2021 | [20] | ||
| 19 | MF | Transfer | Non-US | $12 Million (DP) | August 5, 2021 | [21] | ||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned From | US | Start | End | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | DF | Aberdeen | Non-US | February 18, 2021 | End of Season | [22] | ||
| 34 | GK | Atlanta United 2 | US | April 5, 2021 | April 9, 2021 | [23] | ||
| 34 | GK | Atlanta United 2 | US | April 13, 2021 | April 17, 2021 | [24] |
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only trades involving draft picks and executed after the start of 2021 MLS SuperDraft are listed in the notes. Atlanta have three selections in the draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 31 | Josh Bauer | DF | New Hampshire | US | |
| 3 | 59 | Aiden McFadden | MF | Notre Dame | US | |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Type | US | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | GK | Free agent | Option Declined | US | Free | November 24, 2020 | [25] | |
| 18 | MF | Retired | Out of Contract | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | ||
| 19 | DF | Option Declined | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| 24 | FW | Option Declined | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| 27 | MF | Option Declined | Non-US | Free | November 30, 2020 | |||
| 30 | MF | Free agent | Option Declined | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | ||
| — | MF | Free agent | Option Declined | US | Free | November 30, 2020 | ||
| 26 | MF | Trade | US | $225K GAM | December 13, 2020 | [26] | ||
| 15 | MF | Loan return | Non-US | Free | January 1, 2021 | |||
| 14 | MF | Waived | US | Free | February 2, 2021 | [27] | ||
| 5 | MF | Trade | US | $500K GAM | February 15, 2021 | [28] | ||
| 15 | FW | Released | Non-US | Free | May 18, 2021 | [29] | ||
| 26 | DF | Waived | US | Free | May 28, 2021 | [30] | ||
| — | DF | Contract Terminated | Non-US | Free | July 23, 2021 | [31] | ||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Start | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | DF | Newell's Old Boys | February 9, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | [32] | |
| 6 | DF | Defensa y Justicia | February 18, 2021 | June 30, 2021 | [33] | |
| — | DF | New York Red Bulls | March 9, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | [34] | |
| 35 | DF | Atlanta United 2 | April 16, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | [35] | |
| Acquired | From | For | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 international roster spot | Nashville SC | $175K GAM | [36] | |
| FC Cincinnati | $75K GAM and #4 pick in 2020 Re-Entry Draft | [37] | |
| $125K GAM & No. 31 overall pick in SuperDraft | D.C. United | No. 5 and No. 32 overall picks in SuperDraft | ||
| 2021 international roster spot | Colorado Rapids | $225K GAM in 2022 | [38] |