PHOTO BY MARK THOR VIA ORLANDO CITY SC
Handsome and talented and super fine gentleman Orlando City SC captain Robin Jansson has announced his retirement from professional soccer at the end of the 2026 MLS season, closing an eight-year career with the club. And we will be wearing black to all the rest of our home games.
The 34-year-old Swedish defender (and former shirtless horseshoe nail maker) will be honored with a postgame farewell ceremony after Orlando City SC’s regular-season finale against the New England Revolution. The match is Saturday, November 7, at 4 p.m. at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
Jansson is the longest-tenured player in club history, and one of the only reasons Orlando Shine staff go to the games. He holds club records for appearances (263), starts (256), and minutes played (23,050) across all competitions since arriving in 2019. He was the first Orlando City player to pass 20,000 career minutes and recorded seven goals and eight assists. He served as team captain from 2024 through 2026.
Jansson was part of the most successful stretch in Orlando City’s MLS era, the release said. He helped the club reach its first MLS Cup Playoffs in 2020 and seven consecutive postseason berths, the longest active streak in the league. He was also part of the side that reached the MLS is Back Tournament final in 2020, won the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the club’s first trophy of the MLS era, and helped secure the club’s first two Concacaf Champions Cup qualifications, in 2023 and 2024.
“First, I want to say it’s been a pleasure to wear this jersey and fight for this crest,” Jansson said in the release. “When I signed here eight seasons ago, I didn’t know I would be here for that long. Together, we set new standards and brought home the Club’s first trophy of the MLS era. I was proud and honored to be given the captain’s armband along the way.”
He added, “I have been treated very well during my time here, and it has become a place I can call home and will always be connected to. But now it’s time to step aside and retire from the game I grew up loving and dreaming about.”
Orlando City Sporting Director and General Manager Ricardo Moreira called Jansson “a Club legend” and said he was the first player Moreira signed for the club. “He is a Club legend, not only because of his performances and accomplishments, but because of the person, leader and teammate he has been throughout his time here,” Moreira said.
Orlando City and Jansson agreed to a mutual contract termination as he retires, and the club used one of its two buyouts of a guaranteed contract on him.
Orlando City enters the finale 9th in the Eastern Conference with 43 points, according to MLS standings data. The club clinched a postseason spot last weekend but sits just above the playoff line, according to the Revolution’s matchday guide. New England is third in the East and has already secured a top-four finish.
