The Whitecaps did not disclose financial details, but an ESPN report said the fee around US$6 million.

«I am happy to be here, happy for this opportunity, happy this club pushed for me, and it feels great.» Cavallini said in a release. «I am thankful to a lot people here in Vancouver, from the ownership, to [sporting director] Axel Schuster and coach Marc Dos Santos. The team has brought me here for a reason and I have to do what I love to do, which is score goals and give the fans a lot to cheer about.»

Cavallini will take up a designated player spot on Vancouver’s roster.

The Toronto native scored 29 goals and added eight assists in 81 appearances across all competitions over 2 1/2 seasons with Club Puebla, which plays in Mexican soccer’s top tier.

«I like to play off the ball,» he said. «I like to drive defenders crazy. I like to be involved in a lot of key parts of the game,» Cavallini said.

The 26-year-old has scored 11 times in 17 senior national team appearances with Canada, including goals against Mexico and the United States.

«It’s good that we bring a player that is coming home, but it’s also a player that has proven in another league that he can score and do well. It’s not only in Mexico, even in his moment when he had to grind and go to Uruguay, he started there to make a name for himself,» Dos Santos told the club website. «We’re not doing this because he’s Canadian, we’re doing this because he shows the qualities that fit the way we want to play.»