New England Revolution have re-signed captain Shalrie Joseph as a Designated Player.
33-year old Joseph penned the new contract on the weekend to make it a tenth season with the Revs who he joined in 2003 from former USL club New York Freedom.
Revs president Brian Bilello confirmed the news to MLSsoccer.com and said that the DP deal was put in place in order to ensure the Grenadian would not depart Gillette Stadium.
"It was a priority for Michael [Burns, Revolution general manager]," Bilello said. "It was a priority for me.
"With Jay [Heaps, Revolution coach] coming in, it was a priority for him to have [Joseph] on the field. We sat through it, went through everything with the coaching staff, the technical staff and all the way up to ownership. Everyone was on the same page that we needed to get Shalrie back.
"In terms of him being on a Designated Player contract, we knew - going through the process with him - that is what it would take to bring him back," Bilello adde. "When we talked about it internally and all the way up to ownership, the mandate was quite clear: [Revolution investor/operators Robert and Jonathan Kraft] wanted Shalrie back.
"They trusted Michael to go through the negotiations and do what needed to be done, but they authorized us to make a Designated Player offer if that's what it would take it get him back. It did and we're excited to have him back."