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Adu closing in on move to Brazilian side Bahia

Freddy Adu Philadelphia Union (Getty Images)

By IVES GALARCEP

The long and drawn-out divorce between Freddy Adu and the Philadelphia Union appears to be close to reaching its conclusion and it may just work out perfectly for both parties.

Adu is closing in on a transfer move to Brazilian first division side Bahia, and is set to travel to Brazil next week to finalize the deal, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to SBI on Friday.

If Adu does complete the move to Brazil, it would clear up considerable salary cap space for the Union, with Adu set to make $600,000 in 2013 as a Designated Player. While the savings in 2013 might not be as considerable, the move could help the Union land another unidentified international midfielder for 2013 and would free up a $390,000 salary slot in 2014.

The move could also be a perfect one for Adu, who would be heading to the highly-skilled Brazilian league, a league that is benefiting tremendously from the financial growth of Brazil as a nation. That financial stability has allowed Brazilian teams to go after and sign more high-profile players, like Ronaldinho, Diego Forlan, Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato, as well as keep established stars like Neymar in Brazil longer than in the past.

From a stylistic standpoint, the Brazilian League could be a perfect fit for Adu, who would be playing in the host country of the 2014 World Cup a year before the tournament. A move that could help him revive his faded U.S. Men’s national team hopes.

Adu endured a disappointing 2012 season that saw him fall out of favor with the Union late in the year, with head coach John Hackworth benching him and the Union essentially letting it be known that Adu was not in the team’s plans.

On the field, Adu was still one of Philadelphia’s better attacking players, but in a year when the Union struggled considerable he never could get going and have the impact the Union were expecting when they signed him in the summer of 2011.

The sides spent the entire off-season trying to work out a resolution, with Philadelphia presenting Adu with several loan and transfer opportunities, to countries ranging from South Korea to Australia, but the Union and Adu couldn’t come to an agreement on a good fit for Adu until the Bahia move emerged.

The Bahia move came close to falling apart a week ago, but it has come back together quickly and the move could be a dream scenario for both sides. Especially considering the nightmare alternative, which could have seen Adu spend the entire 2013 season on the sidelines while he took up a significant portion of Philadelphia’s salary cap.

Bahia has some ties to MLS, with Brazilian forward Rafael Sauza joining D.C. United on loan this season as a young Designated Player. The club also counts former Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jeferson on its roster.

What do you think of this development? Think Adu could do well in Brazil? Excited to see what the Union will do with the cap savings? See Philadelphia being a contender in 2013 without Adu?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Aqui em salvador ele vai ser muito bem recebido e a adaptação dele será a melhor possível já que o povo baiano é bastante receptivo e adora fazer amizades o lugar é lindo de belas praias e um clima bastante agradável.

    Welcome Freddy!!!!

    Reply
  2. Let me introduce EC Bahia (Esporte Clube Bahia/Sport Club Bahia)

    Bahia is a club from Salvador, the capital of Bahia state and the Greater Salvador have almost 3M people.

    There’s two main clubs in Salvador: Bahia and Vitória. Bahia is known for being the popular club of the city, a lot of their supporters lives in the poor areas of the city, in the other hand, Vitória is known for being the rich club of the city. Bahia have the 13th biggest supporters (some say they are tied with Botafogo in the 12th position) and Vitória is the 15th.

    Bahia is one of the 13 teams that founded the ”Clube dos 13” (The 13 Club) that is the league that makes negociation for TV, sponsor etc.

    In the past 10 years, Bahia had they worst history moment: they got relegated in 2003 for the Série B, and in 2005 for the Série C (the 3th division). In 2007 they got promoted for Série B and in 2010 for Série A were they remains now. In 2011 they got the classification to the Sulamericana Cup (Europa League equivalent) but were eliminated in the first round.

    Bahia will be back to the Arena Fonte Nova a 55.000 capacity stadium that will be host in Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup, plus, they are building their new training ground, that will be one of the biggest of Brazil, the ”Cidade Tricolor” (Tricolor City).

    Bahia won 2 times the Brazilian League and and their supporters are known in Brazil as one of the best of the country.

    Reply

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