Former New York Red Bulls and captain Dax McCarty took to Twitter to write a heartfelt and amusing thank you to the team's fans on Sunday.
McCarty, 29. wrote that he was "blindsided" when he found out he had been traded from the Red Bulls to the Chicago Fire for general allocation money on Jan. 16.
#RBNY #ThankYou pic.twitter.com/dzSJjVUFu4
- Dax McCarty (@DaxMcCarty11) January 22, 2017
After making a lighthearted reference to the comedy "Old School," McCarty wrote in his post: "I was blindsided. I've been in this league long enough to know how things work, but somehow I was still surprised.
"I've been sitting here for a week trying to process everything and I still can't quite come up with words to describe how I'm feeling."
His former Red Bulls teammate Bradley Wright-Phillips called McCarty "irreplaceable" while adding he'll be missed everywhere from the training ground to the dressing room to the field on matchdays.
McCarty, who had become a key piece of the Red Bulls midfield since being traded there from D.C. United in 2011, is leaving a team that finished first in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference to join the Chicago Fire, who finished 26 points behind New York in last place in the East.
He wrote: "To my former teammates, thank you guys for being my brothers. We went through a lot together. Just know you made me a better man and a better captain. I'll never forget our accomplishments and our failures and everything in between."
The midfielder also thanked the Red Bulls coaching and support staff, as well as his new wife, after he was married last weekend.
He finished the testament to his former team with the same levity in which the post began, saying: "If [the fans] could do me one huge favor and not chant 'metro reject' when I come back, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again for everything."
