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Report: New York City FC lining up move for Villa

David Villa of Atletico Madrid

By IVES GALARCEP

From the moment New York City FC became an MLS expansion team, it was clear the club’s big-money ownership would spare no expense in building a top squad. According to a fresh report from Spain, we just might be finding out real soon how far the club is willing to go in building a powerhouse.

According to a report out of Spain, New York City FC is lining up a move for World Cup-winning forward and current Atletico Madrid ace David Villa. Spanish publication Marca cited a Spanish radio show that claimed NYC FC has reached an agreement with Villa on a three-year deal.

There have been no secondary reports to corroborate the deal, but with head coach Jason Kreis actively scouting in Europe for talent, NYC FC is expected to secure some signings this summer.

What do you think of this report?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. For those that are not smart enough to realize this is an option….
    What are the odds he gets another opportunity like AM this year ? That was one in a million.

    He is not going to want to waste the rest of his career playing for nothing….I guess he could go to Bilboa, they only finished 20 points back….in fourth. Very exciting way to spend your soccer life, let me tell you.

    I think that the Euro “Fair Play” rule is going to help MLS more and more as the years go by. Teams will not be able to overpay and the leagues will get even LESS competitive. Both mean more players thinking MLS might be a nice way to go. I predicted this 5 years ago. I am predicting it way more now with MLS having more way money and Euro teams having less.

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  2. Nycfc is about to give MLS teams a reality check, it’s gonna be fun.
    I feel bad for Philly, Montreal, DC, rapids, Dallas, rsl, earthquakes, fire, revolution, and their sucky owners.
    As for nycfc, I can see even ronaldinho or casillas. I can see a lot of faces in this team and I can hear cosmos fans crying to join MLS.
    Hopefully nycfc stay in the Bronx, and cosmos get queens and red bull New Jersey.

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    • “I feel bad for Philly, Montreal, DC, rapids, Dallas, rsl, earthquakes, fire, revolution, and their sucky owners.”

      RSL were kinda in the final last year.

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      • Thanks to MLS parity but rsl needs to spend a little more and make the magic happen. If I was a DP, I would play in sal lake city, Dallas, Houston, San Jose, Columbus as long as you pay me good and show support for the team and of course teach me about city and surroundings that make the city. MLS teams like Salt Lake City or San Jose need to be smart and recruit top young DP talent, by giving them a tour of the city, suburbs, teach them about life in San Jose and even give them tickets for nba or nfl games. It’s so simple, if you wanna recruit messi to Columbus then show everything what you got and tell him, you can drive to Cincinnati, Cleveland, some fun college football game, go to a mlb or NHL game , have thanksgiving, Halloween, get a house lake, your kids can go to one of the top universities in America. It’s simple but some people don’t got brains

      • Good try, but rich athletes in any sport are drawn to the big cities, for lifestyle, marketability, and ease of international travel. The only chance the smaller markets have to draw a real star is to grossly overpay.

    • The Rapids and SLC just won titles.

      Quit whining El Paso, we can hear it all the way up here in Seattle and it annoying.

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  3. Villa, might not be high scorer(at this moment) but Villa could wear down defenders, open spaces, and do what Henry and Martins are doing in MLS.

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    • He had 13 goals for AM last year, I think he’d be quite productive. My only concern would be age and durability in a more physical league.

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      • 13 goals is average, but still scoring top level. Age and physical part might too much of a problem, but MLS refs let too much violence happend, and fake turf causes way too much injuries.

  4. When googling it says his salary from 2013 was $750,000 Euro. MLS could double that, and he wouldnt even be that high-end on the DP scale (say $2MM). That’s got to be a big driver for a 32 year old player to be able to get a nice salary increase, and live in a more relaxed footballing environment.

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  5. I know some people are still going to find something to complain about but this would be an amazing signing. I hope their next 2 DP signings are even better than this.

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      • not to mention Orlando. we’l talking serious reports on Kaka, Robinho, Villa, and Xavi all coming to those two teams. well done if they pull it off. and that still leaves each with another DP with Shea and Mix both also in the rumor mill for these two.

  6. I’m in Thailand watching TVE (television Española) with my Spanish wife and she turns to me and says “they are saying Villa to some team in NY.” I said no way, then I get online and see this. Story seems to have legs in Spain.

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    • Can we trade lives?

      I want to be with my Spanish wife in Thailand — or Thai wife in Spain, for that matter…

      Haven’t been back to SE Asia since 2012 — miss the fruit and the smiling faces.

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      • Can we trade lives?

        I’d like to have been in SE Asia in 2012.

        I was in Panama that year, playing video games with my Moroccan wife.

      • You all want to trade lives. I have to be in Kermit Texas tomorrow morning. I will leave my single wide at 5:00 AM. My wife left me five months ago.

  7. Clearly a PR move to keep up with the Cosmos-Red Bulls USOC game. How much you want to bet they make another “announcement” the day of the game.

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      • Xavi now being rumored as the other part of this deal with NYCFC with Mix as the secondary option. $h!t is starting to get crazy!

      • I’m actually more excited about Mix than Xavi—a reaction which surprised me.

        Maybe I’m really excited to see Mix play more, or maybe I’m not looking forward to Xavi’s incessant complaints about the pitch quality.

      • i’d love to see Mix in MLS too. assuming he doesn’t have a better offer from a top European league after the World Cup. but yeah, Mix in MLS would be great.

        as a Madrid fan and DC United fan, i can’t wait to yell at both Villa and Xavi.

  8. Seems premature and un-Ives to report this based on “Marca cited a Spanish radio show that claimed…” and “no secondary reports to corroborate the deal,” but maybe I’m just cynical.

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    • if you did some searching, you would see the radio program is Cadena Cope which is a popular radio station. it was reported originally by Tancredi Palmeri, you know, not exactly some intern…then Gab Marcotti mentions it, another big name. later, Ron Waxman who is NYC-based. after all that, Marca got on board.

      already essentially confirmed and it’s said he’ll go on loan until the 2015 season starts.

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  9. Would definitely be a big deal given Villa’s pedigree, quality and ability to continue playing at a high level. Exciting fodder if nothing else.

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  10. Still wish they weren’t playing in Yankee Stadium but I’ll be there when it opens. I love the logo and I think the rivalry with the Red Bulls will be great for the area.

    Hopefully they bring in a bunch of MLS vets so they have a solid team around players like Villa…

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  11. This is a big deal. Athletico Madrid paid over 5 Million Euro last season to get Villa. He also is coming off a decent season on a team who almost won Champions League and won La Liga. I wonder how much his transfer fee will be.

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    • How was he that cheap? Is he old enough to start getting lower transfer fees at this point in his career? I didn’t think he was that old yet.

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      • Barça fans were upset about his low transfer fee. Supposedly, Barça forewent some transfer money in exchange for the first option on a couple Atleti prospects, which includes Oliver Torres.

      • Atheltico is supposed to pay the fee in 3 installments, but if he leaves, they don’t have to pay it in full. They’ve only paid 2.1 million euro so far

  12. No chance this happens, villa is playing at way too high of a level at the moment. He was probably atleticos best player in the champions league final.

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    • Sure, but with Costa leaving, they’re on the downturn. And he’s won everything you can win…so why not leave Europe on a high note?

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      • Probably a bad idea to put money on any transfer unless you know its signed, sealed, delivered. Especially with the rumors in spain. I’m a barca fan and if I would believe half the crap i read day in day out we would have a 100 man squad fielding a starting 11 of the gods. Also a lot of atletico players will definitely be leaving, due to the debts the club has, however this club still plans on competing next year on all fronts and i think villa will contribute to that

      • That doesn’t make sense. Putting money on something implies a bet. So it would inherently have to be before anything is signed.

        Point is, in any country, you have to take into account the sources. These are all reputable. Further, as a Barca fan, maybe you remember Atleti would have to pay a fee to Barca for keeping Villa. It’s in the original deal they signed. So by not keeping and then taking him on loan until January they are avoiding the fee and keeping him for half a season anyway.

        Again, it’s a done deal.

    • Except looking at the big picture, AM is about to be torn back down, and he will be too old next cycle for the World Cup. He’s good enough where if healthy he could play a few years in MLS and make an impression, as opposed to desperately fighting for pecking order in Spain. Since he is not likely a 2018 player he doesn’t need to obsess about level of play and how MLS would be perceived. If he’d like to go he can.

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    • it’s going to happen. pretty much already is given the pedigree of the people reporting about it in Europe, Tancredi Palmeri and Gab Marcotti. not just some random people.

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    • It isn’t like he is 25-28. He’ll be 33 in December. Yes, he is still playing at a high level but at that point he’ll go for the money if it is waived in front of him. Unless he really thinks he can get a better deal elsewhere and really wants to play elsewhere, I suspect this is as realistic as any rumor.

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