Bernardeschi and Insigne era at Toronto FC is over, per report. What next? | OneFootball

Toronto FC has agreed to contract terminations with Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, sources have told GiveMeSport's Tom Bogert. The Insigne news was first reported by Fabrizio Romano.

The news ends a disappointing and expensive era in the history of a club that had established itself as a standard-setter for MLS in the back half of the last decade.

With $15.4 million in guaranteed compensation, according to data from the MLS Players Association's annual salary report, Insigne remained MLS' second-highest-paid player until his exit, behind only Lionel Messi. Bernardeschi was also due about $6,3 million this season.

Insigne only scored 15 goals in 66 appearances across portions of four seasons while dealing with recurring injury issues as well as dressing room friction. At times that turbulence involved Bernardeschi as well as former manager Bob Bradley, according to reporting from The Athletic. More recently, Insigne was a healthy scratch early this season for incoming manager Robin Fraser, before eventually being used in 12 league games this season.

Benardeschi was a bit more productive and consistent over his time in Canada's largest market, scoring 25 times in 88 MLS appearances beginning in 2022.

But his Toronto legacy -- like Insigne -- is one of competitive failure. The Reds made zero playoff appearances with the duo on the payroll, and also fell short in all three editions of the Canadian Championship, a competition they had dominated in the years prior, winning eight times between 2009 and 2020.

Will the new approach be different?

The big question now is, with two new Designated Player spots open, whether sporting director Jason Hernandez will take a different approach to rebuilding the Reds' roster than the splashy moves of his predecessors over the last decade.

To be fair, that approach was pretty successful for about five years when the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and later Alejandro Pozuelo powered TFC to one MLS Cup title, three MLS Cup finals and one Concacaf Champions Cup final between 2016 and 2019.

But it went south in the latter stages of Bradley and Altidore's careers and appeared at times toxic during the Insigne-Bernardeschi era. And there is some evidence that club owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) may favor a more spendthrift approach moving forward.

In March, MLSE laid off approximately 80 employees, which amounted to about 10% of its workforce at the time. The group also owns the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

Already 11 points beneath the playoff line with 15 games left to play, Hernandez -- who was not responsible for the Insigne and Bernardeschi signings -- might choose to pivot toward trying to rebuild a youth program that has been criticized by some for not retaining its top talent.

Currently, the three TFC academy alums with the highest transfer valuation according to Transfermarkt all play elsewhere, Jacob Shaffelburg with Nashville SC, Jacen Russell-Rowe with the Columbus Crew and Jayden Nelson with the Vancouver Whitecaps.