Tuesday Freedom Kicks: D.C. United welcomes Christian Benteke, Taxi Fountas’ first day as an MLS All-Star, and more

Happy MLS All-Star week! The league’s brightest stars, including the Black-and-Red’s Taxi Fountas, are in Minnesota to compete in skills challenges and the MLS All-Star game against Liga MX’s star players on Wednesday, August 10.

We’re looking forward to having the event here at Audi Field next year and hope our friends up north have a blast this week!

In addition to the 8:30 pm ET MLS vs. Liga MX All-Star game on Wednesday, there will be an MLS NEXT All-Star match at 12 pm ET and Special Olympics Unified All-Star game at 4:30 pm ET. D.C. United will be well represented by U16 midfielder Ignacio Alem in the MLS NEXT match, and Malcolm Andrews and Jabari Ramirez for the Special Olympics Unified All-Star game. We wish all the players representing the District the best!

In case you’ve been offline, D.C. United finished the transfer window with one of the most significant moves in club history. Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke signed to the Black-and-Red and arrived in the District yesterday. While Benteke is still a little way out from taking the pitch, the promise of great things to come from the Premier League veteran has supporters thrilled.

Benteke will be in good company in D.C.; coaching staff member Fred Brillant also has played under Patrick Vieira and credits him with boosting his skills as a tactician.

Y. Michele Kang will be a featured speaker at the October 19 Sportico Invest in Sports Conference. Other speakers include David Blitzer (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment), Behdad Eghbali (Clearlake Capital Group), Angie Long (Kansas City Current), and Stephen Jones (Dallas Cowboys).

Wayne Rooney’s cousin, Jake Rooney, just signed with Derby County FC after leaving Burnley. He’ll join George Nunn (from Chelsea) and play with the club’s U21s.

D.C. United’s new manager also seems to think Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is incredibly promising and could contribute to the side retaining the Premier League title.

Wishing you all a good day ahead! Let us know in the comments what you’re most excited about during MLS All-Star!