Charlotte FC Signs Forward Rodolfo Aloko to First Team Contract

Charlotte FC has officially signed forward Rodolfo Aloko to a First Team contract, transitioning the 19-year-old from the club’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate, Crown Legacy FC. The announcement, made on April 10, 2026, confirms that Aloko joins the senior squad as a U22 Initiative signing.

The contract is a guaranteed deal running through June 30, 2030, and includes an option for the 2030-31 MLS season. This move follows a period of rapid development for the Beninese international within the Charlotte FC organizational pathway.

Performance and Pathway

Aloko’s promotion comes amidst a dominant start to the 2026 season with Crown Legacy FC. Through five matchdays, the forward has recorded six goals and two assists, leading MLS NEXT Pro in both goals and overall goal contributions.

His impact was recognized by the league when he was named the MLS NEXT Pro Player of the Month for March 2026. This honor followed a sequence of performances where he opened the season with two consecutive braces and scored in each of the following two matches.

Rodolfo is another example of our growing list of young talents coming through our development pathway, and we are happy to see him move so quickly to the First Team. When we signed him in September, we knew he was a promising, young talent, but needed to settle into a new market. We’ve been impressed with his performances during the preseason, with Crown Legacy and at AFCON with Benin. His versatility at the forward positions with great physical attributes and an extremely strong work ethic will continue to keep his ceiling high.

Zoran Krneta, General Manager

International and Professional Background

Aloko originally joined the Charlotte organization on September 4, 2025, arriving from the Croatian club NK Kustošija Zagreb. At the time of his initial signing, he was 18 years old and remained with NK Kustošija on loan through the end of 2025 to gain further match experience before arriving in Charlotte for the January preseason.

During the 2024/25 season in Croatia, Aloko made 15 appearances across various Kustošija squads, contributing four goals and seven assists. He made his professional debut in Croatia’s second division on February 21 against NK Trnje.

On the international stage, the forward has earned seven caps for the Benin senior national team. His international experience includes:

• A senior debut in June 2025 during a friendly match against Morocco.
• Four appearances at the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as a 16-year-old, where he scored a goal against Zambia.
• Four appearances for Benin at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where he helped the team reach the Round of 16.

Roster and Transaction Details

To accommodate Aloko’s arrival as a U22 Initiative player, Charlotte FC transitioned Kerwin Vargas from a U22 Initiative spot to a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) player.

In a separate but correlating transaction, Charlotte FC engaged in a trade with San Diego FC. The Crown acquired $170,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money and San Diego’s 2027 Natural Second Round SuperDraft pick. In exchange, Charlotte FC provided $200,000 in 2027 General Allocation Money and their own 2027 Natural Second Round SuperDraft pick.