New England Revolution commentary: Is Alexander Buttner on his way out?

The New England Revolution have only made a few moves this offseason but their biggest as of yet has to be the acquisition of Christian Mafla from Atlético Nacional. While this will get Revs fans excited, what does this mean for Alexander Buttner?

New England acquired Buttner prior to the 2019 season and were expecting him to play a major role. Buttner had experience playing for some big clubs such as Manchester United and Dynamo Moscow.

Buttner was known for being an attacking left back and showed that in 2020. His crossing ability made him a threat at times and helped get things going for New England’s offense.

In 2020, Buttner had three assists and started 15 games for New England which isn’t great for a player of Buttner’s caliber. There is also the fact that Buttner was a liability on defense. He could become worn down and make some poor decisions that could become costly.

Then we saw New England utilize DeJuan Jones when Buttner missed games due to COVID-19. Jones did rather well for himself with his pace being a great addition to the attack, but like Buttner, Jones struggled at times on defense.

So with the Mafla acquisition, it appears that he could be in line to take Buttner’s spot in the starting XI. Arena spoke about the Columbian’s attacking ability and had some great things to say about his new signing.

He said. “Christian Mafla is a left-sided defender who offers both experience and skill in his position, making him a very good addition to our backline. Christian is a strong one-on-one defender, a talented passer, and is comfortable moving into the attack. We are delighted to welcome him to the Revolution.”

There are also rumors that Buttner could be headed back to Europe. Two separate articles have linked Buttner to a move to APOEL FC, a club in Cyprus.

Seeing that Buttner claimed that the club tried to sign him before he joined the Revolution, it wouldn’t be surprising for the left back to join APOEL.

But all signs seem to point to Buttner leaving the club which would make his acquisition in 2019 a rather big disappointment.

Revolution fans will just have to wait and see where Buttner ends up playing but it seems as though Buttner has played his last game in New England.