ATLANTA —Atlanta United today announced it has transferred Homegrown defender George Bello 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.”
Bello joined the Atlanta United Academy in 2016. The Douglasville, Georgia. native then signed a Homegrown deal in June 2017 with the deal becoming effective on Jan. 1, 2018. After making his MLS debut on Sept. 2, Bello went on to score his first career goal against New England Revolution on Oct. 6, 2018, becoming the sixth-youngest goal scorer in MLS history at the time.
His breakout season came in 2020, when Bello made 20 appearances for Atlanta United, including 19 starts. He scored one goal and had one assist in 1,648 minutes of play, his first consistent run of minutes in MLS. He carried that form into 2021, when he had career-highs in games played (29), starts (26) and minutes played (2,433). He tallied one goal and career-best three assists. His performances earned him MLS All-Star recognition for the first time, becoming the first ATL UTD Homegrown to make it to the All-Star game.
The defender has represented the U.S. Men’s National Team throughout his youth career and at senior level. He’s earned six caps for the USMNT, including starts in the 2021 Gold Cup Final victory over Mexico and in two road World Cup Qualifiers at Honduras and Panama.
Transaction: Atlanta United transfers George Bello to Arminia Bielefeld on January 31, 2022.
2022 Atlanta United roster (as of Jan. 31, 2022)
Goalkeepers (4): Dylan Castanheira, Justin Garces, Brad Guzan, Bobby Shuttleworth
Defenders (11): Mikey Ambrose, George Campbell, Alex De John, Alan Franco, Andrew Gutman, Ronald Hernández, Brooks Lennon, Efrain Morales, Miles Robinson, Bryce Washington, Caleb Wiley
Midfielders (11): *Osvaldo Alonso, Ezequiel Barco, Jürgen Damm, Emerson Hyndman, Franco Ibarra, Marcelino Moreno, Jake Mulraney, Matheus Rossetto, Amar Sejdic, Santiago Sosa, Tyler Wolff
Forwards (5): Luiz Araújo, Machop Chol, Jackson Conway, Erik López, Josef Martínez
*Loaned to Club Atlético River Plate
