The Pukki party has officially fizzled out.
Minnesota United said Friday it has bought out striker Teemu Pukki’s contract and has transferred him to HJK Helsinki for an undisclosed fee.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pukki came to Minnesota from England with a reputation for creating celebrations with his goal-scoring, but that fell off in 2024. The Finnish international had 10 goals in 1,031 minutes in 2023 after joining the Loons midway through the season, but had only four goals in 939 minutes last fall.
“I want to thank the club and the fans for the memories,” Pukki said in a statement. “Thank you to the club for giving me the opportunity to go back to Finland and HJK. I wish to the club and everyone around it all the best in the future.”
MNUFC used one of its two 2024 contract buyouts on Pukki, and his exit clears a Designated Player spot. He was signed on a two-and-a-half-year contract through June. He was earning a team-high $3.5 million salary in 2023-24, according to the MLS Players Association, and his pro-rated salary for 2025 was approximately $1.5 million.
The Loons needed to contribute to a portion of Pukki’s salary in order for the deal to happen, and therefore, it constitutes as a contract buyout, according to MLS. But Helsinki is also paying MNUFC a fee to obtain Pukki’s registration, so that compensation also makes it a transfer, the Pioneer Press understands. That fee from Helsinki will, in turn, go toward Minnesota’s share of Pukki’s pay.
Pukki, 34, was acquired from Norwich City as a final piece by then-manager Adrian Heath to play with creative midfielders Emanuel Reynoso and Robin Lod, but that three-pronged partnership never materialized in 2023.
In 2024, Pukki’s playing time fell off with the emergence of Tani Oluwasey and arrival of Kelvin Yeboah. He also dealt with injuries last season under new head coach Eric Ramsay.
“It was a shame that it didn’t work out,” Ramsay told reporters Friday. “… Within my mind, we would be a team that spanned a lot around Teemu and around Reynoso and with those players that within a couple of months it sort of became apparent it wasn’t going to be the case.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Ramsay’s team became focused on speed and athleticism at forward and that didn’t fit Pukki’s skill set late in his career.
Pukki’s exit, which came after training with the team in Minnesota two weeks ago, also clears one international and senior roster spot apiece.
______________________________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
The Trust Project
