Inter Miami CF announced today that it has re-signed versatile veteran Brek Shea. The defender/midfielder returns to the Club’s First Team roster after providing quality depth in its inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) season, finishing tied as the team’s second-highest scorer.
Shea, 30, recovered at the Inter Miami CF Training Center from a season-ending knee injury suffered on July 14, 2019, and regained fitness training with the Club’s USL League One side Fort Lauderdale CF before signing with the First Team on July 25, 2020. The Texas native scored four goals in 13 appearances, six of them starts, and helped Inter Miami clinch a playoff berth in its first season.
Shea comes with a winning track record, having won the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup. He has also played over 230 MLS matches and more than 80 games on the international stage across all levels with the United States Men’s National Team.
After being drafted No. 2 overall in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft out of high school, the left-footed player featured for MLS sides FC Dallas, Orlando City SC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Atlanta United FC. Shea featured for FC Dallas from 2008 until 2012, earning 2011 MLS Best XI and 2011 MLS All-Star honors while appearing in 103 games, scoring 19 goals. In January 2013, Shea signed for English Premier League club Stoke City and made his debut against Fulham on Feb. 23. In January 2014, Shea was loaned to English Football League Championship side FC Barnsley before being loaned to Championship side Birmingham City in September of that year.
Shea returned to home soil in December 2014 as one of the marquee signings for Orlando City ahead of its 2015 MLS inaugural campaign. He played 46 matches between the 2015 and 2016 seasons before being traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC as a Designated Player in 2017. After featuring in 56 games in two campaigns, including three in the 2017 MLS playoffs, Shea was signed by Atlanta United for the 2019 season. He appeared in three matches in Atlanta’s U.S. Open Cup-championship run, as well as 19 regular season games, before suffering a season-ending right knee injury in a match against the Seattle Sounders.
