Freddy Adu's roller-coaster ride through Europe could end with a return to Major League Soccer.
Chivas USA is lining up a move to sign Adu as a Designated Player, high-ranking MLS sources told SBI late Tuesday night.
Adu is currently in the final year of his contract with Benfica, but could be allowed to move to MLS on a free transfer as the Portuguese club is looking to unload his contract.
A move to Chivas USA would re-unite Adu with Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser, who was an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake during Adu's final season in MLS before heading to Europe in 2007.
A return to MLS would mean more playing time for the former U.S. Youth national team star and current senior national team midfielder, and could help boost his chances of playing a key role on the U.S. Olympic team in 2012.
What do you think of this development? Like the idea of Adu returning to MLS? Think he should stay in Europe?
Share your thoughts below.
thanks, i do appreciate it
French league is too physical, MLS might be also…
eurodouchy
Glad to hear this. Would prefer him playing in Holland or Belgium but PLAYING is the key. I guess I will have to watch Chivas now especially if they can get EJ as well.
No One on the Pac NW could get him in the fold? Portland or Vancouver.
Portland would have been perfect for him and them.
GK – Troy Perkins
RB – Lovell Palmer
CB – Eric Brunner
CB – Mamadou “Futty” Danso
LB – Rodney Wallace/Chabala
LM – Jeremy Hall/Nagbe
DM – Jack Jewsbury
DM – James Marcelin
AM – Freddy Adu
RM – Perlaza/Zizzo
F – Kenny Cooper
That’s a TEAM to be feared
Yes, I think he now has the confidence and seasoning to blossom. Welcome home!
This is a great move for Freddy!
better to watch than LA Galaxy
Union only goes after defense
very eurodouchy….yuck
Labrocca is better on the right anyway….nice move
Passing on Benny F. wasn’t such a bad move for Chivas, especially if they can also bring in a striker
euroswine
CD San Diego…perfect fit
If the best American player doesnt get a fair shake in foreign lands, nobody will. Come home Freddy!
Freddy is really 34
Both are below average MLS players…Adu should go to USL first
I think people people fail to realize that Freddy is not going to leave Benfica for 150-200k if he is already getting more
The chivas style is so slow and boring I hope it doesnt rub off on adu
Adu is under contract with Benfica. He gets paid the same amount of money, whether he plays for Benfica or Rizespor or Chivas or simply watches the games in Benfica’s cafeteria. Benfica is more likely to allow him to go on a free transfer to MLS than to a European team. Benfica makes money from transfers of players to other European teams and the last thing they want is to allow free transfers within their primary market.
I agree with Union’s assessment. MLS also over expanded and seem to be in a rush to get to 20 teams. The discrepancy between the best and worst teams has increased dramatically as a consequence.
I worry about Freddy breaking his leg in the league as well. Look what happened to Ferreira and Zakuani this season. I hate to say this, but think he would be better off in the Mexican league which is a much slower tempo and much much more skillful than MLS.
Still, playing somewhere is better than not playing. I hope this is a stepping stone to better things for Freddy and I also hope that Fraser uses him as an attacking midfielder and not on the flank.
I have to agree with Sergio on that one
Love it. Would be at least one reason to watch Chivas USA, right now the only one is the other team.
Returning from Europe with his tail between his legs didn’t hurt Landon Donovan. So it shouldn’t hurt Freddy.
Who said ANYTHING about Freddy Adu being the savior? This conversation is strictly about his CLUB situation, your comment is completely out of context and scope.
Furthermore, I watched about 5 of Adu’s games in Turkey and both of his recent internationals and its clear he is headed in the right direction and certainly good enough for MLS. Any reasonable fan of the game can see that.
I don’t like it, specially becasue Chivas is associated with Mexico.
eurotramp
Chivas USA would be playoff contenders if they could pull off the signatures of EJ and Adu before the 14th…
Labrocca + Adu as attacking mids with Braun + EJ up top.
Now if they can just re-brand in the offseason, I wont hate them…
And just which channel/stadium would you find Adu on???? I agree with Sean…One good game for USA and he is the savior once again???
Bravo, did you come up with that one on your own?
Do yourself a favor and watch some soccer so you can actually have an “informed” opinion.
The Union should have made a move like this.
I too would rather seem him playing in Europe–and still three weeks until the transfer windown closes. St. Pauli in Hamburg is desperate for a player like Freddy and I think he would fit in great there. St. Pauli was relegated to the second Bundesliga after an awful second half of the season last year, but is a good team with great fans that some think will bounce back next year into Bundesliga One. The second Bundesliga would be about a million times better than playing in Turkey as he did last season, and would give him the chance to show his stuff and maybe catch the attention of some bigger European teams–and that is not going to happen again if he goes back to the MLS.
Good move for Freddy, he needs to play. DP? not sure about that.
This is dumb, if he was going to come back he should have last winter before going to Rizespor. That loan, though in a second rate European league, improved his confidence and form greatly and it showed in the Gold Cup. His performance there coupled with his showing at Rizespor has garnered much more interest in Europe than there had been last winter. It would be a foolish time to go back now after proving himself more mature by playing at Rizespor and thus creating a larger market for his services in Europe.
I feel like this all comes down to money, DP money will come close to his current salary while if Adu stayed in Europe he might not have been able to make the same money.
I agree, but Adu’s performance in the Gold Cup final gives me cautious optimism. I don’t hesitate to critique Adu for lack of defensive intensity and hard work, but he worked his tail off in the Gold Cup final, tracking back on defense and fighting for every ball. I could not believe my eyes that it was Freddy Adu doing sliding tackles and chasing the players down. If he keeps it up, he’ll earn Klinsmann’s trust.
I think having him with Labroca in the middle can do wonders for their attack.
Are you seriously comparing Ballouchy to Adu? Adu is a much better player.
Chivas become the deeper team with this move…sad, but true
…you mean like Monaco who let him go after he was on loan there for a season? Rolls eyes…. as if these options were available to him.
Get Real..
Where have you heard this? I think it will be very difficult for Adu to get back to Europe even if he does well. He would have to dominate a la Landon to get another shot,
I dont even think he is MLS worthy….maybe USL level right now
There is only one L.A.
ReD bulls plz
I think Adu’s salary scares a lot of teams off.
Last week, Jimmy Conrad co-hosted on World Football Daily for a day and Freddy Adu came up. In a foreboding comment, Conrad mentioned that there’s a strong chance that Adu would be returning to MLS. I didn’t put it together at the time, but now it makes sense.
Personally, I wish his career would have flourished in Europe, but ultimately the best thing is that he plays.
I wonder if he pondered playing in Mexico, there style of play fits his style better than the physical, fast MLS.
I don’t think it is that no team in Europe wants him. No team wants him at his current price. I think the issue has always been about money. Freddy and his handlers don’t want to get less money then what Benefica are paying him, and nobody wants to pay that much for him.
It would be great! Any continual playing time Adu can get would be good.
When he was 14? Or in general?
Why are people still convinced that the MLS is the best breeding ground for young players? It’s not the whole problem, but its part of the problem. The development academies will hopefully fix this, but there are plenty of Americans whose development was absolutely STUNTED by the MLS. Not that they had other options, but still. (cough, Agudelo).
Glad reality got through his handlers and ego and let him do the best thing for his career. He never should’ve left MLS in the first place.
http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/m-l-s-and-nbc-sports-announce-new-tv-deal/
“Good for him. Great for MLS.” I think that sums it up. A player like Adu needs A) playing time, so its good if gets it as a regular starter at Chivas but just as importantly he needs B) to play in a league that suits his skill set. We’ll see how he fares tonight, but his strengths are ball skills and creativity….not MLS’s strong suit. I’m sorry, the MLS drives me crazy. I watch it, I root for it, I hope it grows as a league, but Garber has no coherent (or reasonable) vision whatsoever. It’s gotten a whole lot better, but its still a gross mash up of a European soccer league and the NBA or something. All star games? Designated players? Salary cap? Playoffs? I dunno. I’d rather have Adu play in the Primera division before he goes to the MLS. And what if does sign with Chivas? So what, he plays for a few more months and then is once again stuck not playing while the MLS takes has a ridiculously long break?