This might be a first in professional sports history:

A team shed nearly two-thirds of its payroll in a single day … and might have gotten better.

That’s what Toronto FC of Major League Soccer did earlier this month, mutually agreeing to terminate the bloated contracts of Italian wingers Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.

Both were designated players, meaning they can be paid above the league’s strict salary cap, and were set to make a combined $21.7 million this season out of Toronto FC’s total $34.1 million payroll.

The 34-year-old Insigne, at $15.4 million in total compensation, was the league’s second-highest paid player behind Lionel Messi ($20.4 million) and maybe its biggest bust. He was plagued by a series of calf injuries and had one goal in 13 games this season.

And without him, the 12th place team in the Eastern Conference actually looked decent Wednesday night against the Western Conference’s first-place team, escaping Snapdragon Stadium with a 1-0 win against battered and bruised San Diego FC.

Toronto FC won just four of 20 games before jettisoning its Italian wingers. Since, they’ve won two of three.

Chemistry, sometimes, trumps cash.

That speaks to their culture and squad depth under new coach Robin Fraser, and to the understandable lack of squad depth for an expansion franchise that dropped its second straight home game.

San Diego FC was missing several key pieces due to injury, rest and personnel decisions, opting to part ways with popular striker Milan Iloski over stalled salary negotiations as his loan spell from Denmark’s FC Nordsjaelland reached its conclusion.

Striker Marcus Ingvartsen, midfielder Anibal Godoy and defender Paddy McNair are hurt. Winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, left back Luca Bombino and first-choice goalkeeper CJ dos Santos were being rested for the midweek game between a pair of Saturday dates.

Bombino’s replacement, Argentine defender Franco Negri, surrendered a 20th-minute penalty kick when he chopped down Theo Corbeanu in the box. Referee Alyssa Pennington initially signaled no foul, then went to the monitor on the suggestion of VAR and reversed her decision.

Corbeanu calmly buried the PK against backup keeper Pablo Sisniega, and Toronto took a 1-0 advantage into halftime with SDFC yet to record a shot.

Coach Mikey Varas switched tactics, moving Anders Dreyer from a wide to central position and then making a triple sub in the 60th minute that included Lozano. That ramped up the pressure, and the shots, but none connected against an organized Toronto defense.

The closest they came was in the 87th minute, when a Lozano shot deep in the penalty box after a defensive giveaway appeared to carom off a Toronto arm.

Pennington did not rule it a handball and was not sent to the monitor after a lengthy VAR check as boos cascaded down from the announced crowd of 23,514 – its second-smallest home crowd after 22,361 for Colorado on May 14, also a Wednesday night.

Two months after SDFC fans engaged in a wild, postgame brawl against their LA Galaxy counterparts at Snapdragon Stadium, there was a fight amongst SDFC supporters Wednesday night as they exited the cheering section behind the north goal. Police responded quickly, separated the combatants and cleared the section.

With the loss, SDFC remains in first place at 13-7-3 with 42 points, one ahead of a Vancouver Whitecaps team that visits Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday. The Whitecaps have 41 points but in one fewer game.

Originally Published: July 16, 2025 at 10:01 PM PDT