ATLANTA, GEORGIA—It might be hard to let him go but for the sake of his further development as a player, the Atlanta United FC has decided to allow homegrown defender George Bello to play in Europe.
United FC has transferred to Arminia Bielefeld of the German Bundesliga.
“Each player has a different path in their development, but George is a shining example of one of those pathways that our club can offer,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said.
“He joined our original Academy program in 2016 and soon signed as a Homegrown at just 15 years old. He then made his mark at USL level, went on to debut with our First Team and ultimately played his way onto the U.S. Men’s National Team. For George, his desire was to move to Europe for an opportunity to continue his development and we wish him continued success with Bielefeld,” Bocanegra added.
Bello is feeling good these days as he is one of the six nominees for the US young male soccer player of the year.
Bello who is also having a great MLS season is nominated to the category along with four other players.
Bello, 19, has made five appearances for the USMNT, making his senior team debut against Trinidad and Tobago on Jan. 31, 2021. Bello started two matches during the USMNT’s run to the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup title, including the 1-0 victory against Mexico in the final. Most recently, Bello started two Concacaf qualification matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Honduras on Sept. 9 and Panama on Oct. 11.
