Atlanta United bring in Barco

At a press conference on Thursday introducing the $15-million man to media, Atlanta technical director Carlos Bocanegra said the Five Stripes’ brass watched Barco play “all throughout the summer” and team officials went to Argentina to meet the 18-year-old and have dinner with him.

Barco started and played 45 minutes in Atlanta’s 3-1 preseason win last weekend against Nashville SC.

Aside from Barco and Martino, Atlanta’s roster features three additional players from Argentina and a few more from other South American countries.

More than 2,000 fans got to see Atlanta’s newest player in action Thursday night at an open training session at the club’s training grounds in Marietta.

The “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music” rapper appeared at the end of the video sporting Atlanta United’s new kit for the 2018 season dubbed “The King Peach.” Atlanta United players marched out of a tunnel shortly after, sporting the kit that features a white jersey and shorts with peach accents, giving a nod to Georgia’s nickname, “The Peach State.” The team said the kit was inspired by a fan-made tifo from last season that showed a king’s crown perched atop a peach.

During the open training, the first team scrimmaged against a gaggle of players who will likely make up the roster for Atlanta United 2, its USL affiliate that will play games in Gwinnett County this season.