EXCLUSIVE: GOAL sat down with the midfielder to discuss his record move, challenges of Europe and his USMNT ambitions
Paxten Aaronson just wanted to be happy.
That's the simple answer and, in reality, are there many better answers than that? What's the point of all of this if you aren't chasing happiness?
The life of professional athletes isn't always so simple, especially those in the spotlight. As a young member of the U.S. men's national team, Aaronson's dreams, ambitions and goals are on public display, particularly during transfer windows. It's one of the unique phenomena of this game – everyone in the world seems to have an opinion on what's best for you.
Aaronson made his choice. He left Europe, heading home to join the Colorado Rapids in a reported record $7 million deal. There were plenty of reasons behind it, and he stressed that the decision was not made without consideration for every potential scenario and ramification. But ultimately he valued his well-being over everything else.
"Of course, outside fans can all say what they think is best for your career," Aaronson told GOAL, "but I promise you that I've thought endlessly about every situation. I knew this was what was best for not only me and my career, but for my family and my well-being. I wanted to go somewhere where I was going to be my happiest playing soccer. I wanted to enjoy it. If you're not enjoying playing soccer, what's the point of even doing it? You play as a kid to enjoy it, and that's what Colorado can offer me.
"Before the transfer, I promise that I thought of every possible outcome and whether staying in Europe was right for me. But at the end of the day, I had to go somewhere where I was going to play because that's when I'm the happiest."
Fans don't always see athletes' careers through the same lens. They often want players to be challenged, to deal with the pressures of Europe, to test themselves to help maximize their talent. In Colorado, Aaronson faces a new kind of pressure. With the Rapids, Aaronson can no longer be just a guy. He has to be THE guy. He's no longer fighting for a place. He's fighting to prove that he can be a star attraction.
The Rapids will only go so far as Aaronson can carry them. Is that enough? Does that, plus happiness, help a player fulfill their potential? And does that, ultimately, move Aaronson closer to achieving his ambition of representing the USMNT in a World Cup?
Aaronson is betting that the answer is "yes." He's betting on himself, all while acknowledging that his life needed this change.
Getty Images SportHardships of Europe
In some ways, it begins with a fire. Literally.
Having proven himself as one of the brightest stars in MLS with the Philadelphia Union, Aaronson earned a move to Germany in November 2022. He arrived at Eintracht Frankfurt a few months later, making seven appearances down the stretch to close that Bundesliga season. After starring for the U.S. U20s that summer, he returned ready to establish Frankfurt as a home base.
Then it happened.
"I'd found my apartment," Aaronson recalls. "It was beautiful. I came back that summer, did preseason, same apartment and felt like I'd established that as my home. That October, I was in Arizona for a camp and I got the call – my apartment was on fire. They investigated and everything. I was like, 'How severe is it?' They said, 'Yeah, all of your belongings, everything's finished."
"I was staying in this dungeon of a hotel in the middle of Germany. It was literally depressing. It was freezing cold. It was the worst place I've ever stayed. That felt like the starting point. From that point, I was just constantly moving."
In January of 2024, he was off to Vitesse for what was ultimately a doomed season due to the club's financial issues. Last season, he joined Utrecht, seemingly breaking out with eight Eredivisie goals to establish himself as one of the top young stars in the Dutch league. He returned back to Frankfurt this past summer eager to fight for a spot. Once it became clear that they didn't have one for him, Aaronson had to confront reality – he didn't know what was next.
"My girlfriend hates the uncertainty," he said with a laugh, adding that one of the challenges of moving around Europe was the fact that she was not able to get the visas needed to join him. "That's just the life of a soccer player. You learn to live with it. But we never really knew where we were going to be. My transfer to Vitesse was right on deadline day and I had to literally drive there and complete it. You just get used to these things.
"The last two years were amazing for me, and I was coming off the best season of my career. But I knew I'd be happiest playing soccer and needed somewhere to play. I was getting that at Utrecht, and we discussed another loan back, but that wasn't ideal for Frankfurt. It was either stay at Frankfurt or move somewhere else. As the window got later, both parties agreed to find another solution. That's when Colorado came up."
AdvertisementImagnBeing the guy in Colorado
The allure of staying in Europe was obvious. Conventional wisdom would say it was Aaronson's only choice. Players don't come back to MLS at 22, particularly when they clearly still have options abroad. Aaronson acknowledges that. And in truth, he had no plans of coming to MLS until Colorado popped up late in the window.
For several years, the Rapids have taken big swings to sign American talent looking for a refresh. Zack Steffen, Reggie Cannon and Djordje Mihailovic have all joined the club from Europe. Coincidentally, it was Mihailovic's sale to Toronto that paved the way for Aaronson's arrival in Colorado. It's the biggest move the club's made to date, and one that shocked many on the outside.
“We want to bring in the best young players and build teams that are capable of winning trophies on our side, but exciting and entertaining our fans as well. And I think we had an opportunity here to do just that,” said club president Padraig Smith. “We love having this young, domestic American core, and we think we have a real chance to not only stay above the line, but hopefully push even further up and then ultimately challenge for trophies.”
Coach Chris Armas deemed the move worthy of celebration, saying, “The top talent that we have, our league is great. Guys are developing. We should celebrate this day, and we should get excited that we get to see the best young talent that we [have] on display.”
While that sense of home was key for Aaronson, so, too, was the soccer. The Rapids had a plan, and they offered Aaronson something he couldn't find in Frankfurt – the opportunity to be a major player, not just another player.
"I think it's a mindset," Aaronson says. "If I'm in the game, how can I take over the game? At Frankfurt, maybe I was a little more hesitant to not make a mistake or those kinds of things. I'm never a player who played scared or anything. I always wanted to try stuff, but these are just different roles, you know? At Frankfurt, I'm with Mario Gotze, Randal Kolo Muani and Omar Marmoush, and these are guys getting sold for $100 million. Those were the stars of the team. Here, things are a bit different."
He says he's embracing the expectations in Colorado, something that motivates him and made this a unique opportunity.
"I just couldn't do 15-20 minutes a game because, as a person, for my headspace, it wouldn't have been good for another year," he said. "In Europe, I was a guy with nothing to lose, trying to prove and show people who I am. Here, they made me a big signing. They're expecting things of me. That's unique for a young player. I think that's what will get the best out of me. It'll make me work on different aspects of my game that I didn't have to in Europe. Leadership and being more vocal, for example, whereas in Europe, I was just another player on the team, grinding and looking up to everyone else. This gives me a chance to develop as a player, but also as a person."
The Rapids, in truth, will only go so far as Aaronson can take them in the coming years. As the team's most expensive player, it'll be his name on the marquee, and his contributions that will be the difference between success and failure. It's one of the unique aspects in MLS. If your Designated Players aren't good, your team won't be either. The Rapids are banking on Aaronson being one of MLS' best.
Is that enough for a player who wants to do more than compete in MLS? Is that enough for a player with Aaronson's USMNT ambitions?
Getty Images SportThe USMNT effect
Aaronson didn't speak to Mauricio Pochettino before making the transfer decision. The USMNT manager, to be fair, has generally stayed out of such talks. That said, though, it's not hard to imagine how Pochettino would feel about this move given all he's said about MLS.
"We need to give MLS the value because competing there, I think the players can show that they can perform in the national team," Pochettino said after announcing his most recent roster. "I think it's not necessary to move from MLS to Europe, because sometimes the MLS – under my assessment – maybe is more competitive than some leagues in Europe. We have some players competing in different leagues that maybe are not so competitive, or in every single week compete in the same way that you compete in the MLS every single week."
With Colorado, Aaronson will surely be tasked with competing, not on the practice field but in meaningful games. It's a different type of pressure, one that has to be acknowledged. Players in Europe face the pressure of keeping their spots. Aaronson now faces the pressure of putting his team in contention. Again, the question is simple: in a World Cup year, is that enough to keep Aaronson in the picture?
Admittedly, it'll be tough. Aaronson played sparingly at this summer's Gold Cup, despite being in a squad missing multiple key midfield regulars. That, too, was part of the allure of the Rapids. While Frankfurt and other European options wanted him to play on the wing, the Rapids will play him in his preferred spots as a central midfielder, either as an eight or a 10.
"Obviously, I thought about the national team because I want to be at the World Cup," Aaronson said. "I knew I had to go somewhere and, if I was playing five, 10, 15 minutes off the bench, I probably wouldn't have much of a chance, would I? The coaching staff here really emphasizes that you have to be playing real minutes. I agree. I'm in alignment on that. So, when you have a coach that doesn't put a big red X next to MLS guys, you obviously notice that. You know you can come back to MLS and not cross yourself out of the national team.
"Americans, maybe we don't have to be so against MLS. It's a league that, of course, has room to grow. But I think it is growing and I come into it at a unique time with the World Cup coming to America and American soccer continuing to grow. That's one of the things that attracted me to the league – how much it's been growing."
Aaronson, too, now has a place to grow, and also a place to put down roots to help in that pursuit.
Colorado RapidsA place to call home
Aaronson is settling into life in Colorado. He's found a nice apartment, although he hasn't spent too much time in it – such is the life of a professional athlete.
On Saturday night, Aaronson had his biggest moment since joining the club, scoring his first goal of the season in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Colorado beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1. Aaronson scored on a header off a corner kick that redirected off a defender and slipped inside the back post.
While that game was at home, his first two games with the Rapids were on the road, an early reminder of the realities of MLS travel.
"I've come in at a good time with it being fall," he says. "The leaves are changing, and it gets beautiful up here in the mountains."
Family will be visiting, of course. That part of life had been lacking for a while. At this summer's Gold Cup, older brother Brenden said that the family hasn't spent much time together in the last two years, particularly the two professional soccer siblings.
"It feels like we've flip-flopped over the last two years," Brenden told GOAL. "This has been the most time we've spent with each other since we were young, and that's just been really, really good for us."
While Brenden is still half a world away in Leeds, Paxten is now on American soil, which makes everything logistically easier.
"I love football, but I love my family as well, and you try to do your best to balance both worlds," Aaronson said. "I give a lot of credit to the guys who are out there and have girlfriends or whoever who can't live with them. It's different when you can't go home, even when you have a few days off. The rest of the European guys, the Scandinavians or French guys, they would just take a 45-minute flight or a train back. We Americans are just stuck out there, twiddling our thumbs to figure out something to do.
"Look, I had an amazing experience. I improved so much, the fanbases, the culture, everything was amazing, but I think people tend to forget that there's a human side of playing soccer and that soccer players are also humans that have feelings. They miss their families, too."
With that part settled, Aaronson can now focus on the soccer. And while MLS is his new home, he's not ruling anything out for the future.
"I'm still super young, so I think in soccer, anything is possible," Aaronson says. "If I just focus on myself and my own game, then I think the possibilities will be endless."
It's now on him to prove it. He got what he wanted with this move, but now carries the pressure of a club that has invested heavily in his progress. It also turned up the volume from outside critics, eager to say that he made the wrong choice. Fair or not, Aaronson will have to answer to those critics. He'll also have to answer to the USMNT, too, when and if that call comes.
For now, though, he's just glad to have a place to stand. With those roots down, he believes he's now ready to grow – and be happy while doing so.
"Coming back to MLS, it's something I'm familiar with," he says. "I'll have friends and family close by. I haven't been anywhere where I could really establish a home or a lifestyle. I've been on the road every year for the three and a half years I was in Europe. Rental furniture, rental houses, moving, moving, moving and, after a while, it takes a toll on you. Of course, I'm young, and it was a great experience, but after three years of doing that, I just wanted to settle down somewhere.
"Europe was great for me. For a young guy like me, it was such a cool experience. But you don't want to be moving around your whole life. You can sacrifice two or three years of that. Eventually, it comes to a point where you want something you can call your home."
