He scored the first goal in Philadelphia Union history and would go on to score boatloads more.

Sebastien Le Toux will sign a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a Union player, sources told Crossing Broad on Wednesday. A press conference is expected to take place later this month.

The 34-year-old Frenchman had two separate stints in Chester and is the most accomplished player in the franchise’s short history. He scored 50 regular season goals, one playoff goal, and five U.S. Open Cup goals. He also bagged 50 assists, playing sometimes as a forward and sometimes on the right wing under three different managers.

Le Toux was Philadelphia’s first All-Star and first double-digit goal scorer. He remains the franchise leader in the following categories:

  • games played (175)
  • goals (56 in all competitions)
  • assists (50+)
  • shots (320)
  • shots on goal (144)

Le Toux bagged a hat trick in the Union’s very first home game, a 3-2 win against D.C. United back in April of 2010 at Lincoln Financial Field.

I logged Seba’s ten-best Union goals in a 2016 article and chose this one as the best:

That was vintage Le Toux, getting behind the defense, latching on to a long ball, and finishing with ease. That’s still the best first touch I’ve ever seen from a Union player.

He originally came to Philadelphia as part of the 2010 expansion draft, left unprotected by the Seattle Sounders, where he played from 2007 to 2009. After two successful years in Philly, he was controversially traded by former manager Peter Nowak before returning to the club in 2013. Le Toux was traded to Colorado midway through the 2016 season, signed with D.C. as a free agent in 2017, then left the team by mutual consent in August.

Sebastien finished his MLS career with 263 regular season games played, 207 starts, and 18,803 minutes logged.

That’s not a bad run at all.