Minnesota United announced on Monday that it has reached an agreement with Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica for the transfer of Ecuador international winger Romario Ibarra using targeted allocation money.
The 23-year-old will join the second-year MLS side subject to receiving a visa and transfer certificate, and will occupy an international roster slot.
Romario has registered 16 goals in 131 matches with Universidad Catolica of Ecuador's Serie A, and scored in each of his two appearances for the national team.
"We have been looking for some change-of-game pace for the team, and that's one of the best things Romario does: He changes games with his pace and he challenges defenders," Minnesota manager Adrian Heath said in a statement. "I know how difficult these types of players are for us to cope with.
"It will make a change now that we have one of these players on our roster that we feel, with his skill and pace on the counter-attack, can be a difference maker."
His older brother, Renato Ibarra, is also an Ecuadorian international, who's spent the past two years with Liga MX giant Club America, from where Minnesota United signed designated player Darwin Quintero this spring.
Romario, however, has no relation to current Minnesota United midfielder Miguel Ibarra.
