Irish winger Ronnie O'Brien has been traded to San Jose from Toronto in exchange for allocation money and a first round draft pick in 2009.

The 29-year old made the MLS All-Star teams in 2004 and 2005, but only played 13 games last season due to knee injuries.

His salary is $258,750, so the trade frees up cap space for Toronto.

TFC now has a good amount of money available to bring in players before the start of the season. The first round draft pick they turn out to be a high pick because San Jose may struggle as an expansion team.

O'Brien first played in MLS for FC Dallas from 2002 to 2006. He was at Middlesbrough from 1997 to 1999 and Juventus from 1999 to 2002. The veteran attacker has played internationally with the Ireland U-18, U-19 and U-21 teams. He was on the squad which won the Under-17 European Championship in 1998.

O’Brien was at the center of attention when, in August of 1999, he led Time Magazine's online voting for Person of the Century for a short period of time. Hundreds of his friends in Ireland voted for him at the same time and it caused a computer glitch that scrambled the results.