Feel free to cross Raul off the last of potential summer MLS arrivals.
The Spanish striker signed a one-year deal with Al Sadd in Qatar, signalling the next move in his legendary career. Raul, who turns 35 next month, played two seasons with German club Schalke, with his final match with the team coming at PPL Park in a friendly against the Philadelphia Union last week.
Despite his growing age, Raul performed at a high level this season, scoring 21 goals in all competitions. He scored 40 goals with Schalke after leaving Real Madrid following 16 seasons in which he became one of the world's most lethal finishers.
The Union and Chivas USA were reported to have shown serious interest in bringing Raul to MLS.
Here are a few more stories to kick off your week:
BALOTELLI MAKES ITALY CUT
Mario Balotelli may yet find his way back into the Italian national team fray.
The mercurial Manchester City striker, whose pass helped set up Sergio Aguero for the Premier League-winning goal on Sunday, was listed on Italian manager Cesare Prandelli's 32-man preliminary roster for Euro 2012.
Balotelli's on- and off-field antics had led Prandelli to repeatedly leave the forward out of Italian camps and friendlies over the last few months. Balotelli last played for Italy in November in a friendly against Uruguay.
As for whether Balotelli will play during Euro 2012, Prandelli will trim his roster to 23 in two weeks ahead of tune-up friendlies against Luxembourg and Russia.
VAN NISTELROOY RETIRES
After helping lead Malaga to a UEFA Champions League berth, Ruud Van Nistelrooy is calling it a career.
The 35-year-old Dutch striker, who said that he "arrived at my physical limit and I can't play at the maximum level" retired after Malaga's season-ending, 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon, a game that marked the end of his one-year contract with the club.
Van Nistelrooy was a standout performer for Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Hamburg before trying his hand at high-spending Malaga. Van Nistelrooy, who was hampered by injuries throughout his career, had his playing time limited this season, scoring five goals in 32 games in all competitions.
NEVILLE ADDED TO ENGLAND STAFF
England national team coach Roy Hodgson has added a voice of experience to his coaching staff by including former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville as an assistant ahead of this summer's European championship.
Neville, who retired and had been doing broadcast work, was given a four-year deal by the FA and will join Hodgson with immediate effect.
SANTOS WINS SAO PAULO TITLE
Winning the Sao Paulo state title is nothing new for Brazilian power Santos, which did so for the third consecutive year with a 4-2 victory over Guarani (7-2 on aggregate) spearheaded by two goals from Neymar.
The 20-year-old Brazilian star continued his standout season by netting from the penalty spot and adding a second on a finish from inside the area just days after he was named as the headliner on Brazil's roster for four upcoming friendlies — including one against the United States — in the build-up to the Olympics.
With the victory, Santos became the first team in 43 years to win three street Sao Paulo state titles, with the last one being the Pele-led Santos squad of 1967-1969.
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Disappointed Raul won't be coming to MLS? Think Balotelli deserves a place on Italy's Euro roster? What's your favorite Van Nistelrooy memory? Think Neville is a good hire for England's coaching staff? Where do you rank Neymar among the world's active players?
Share your thoughts below.
apples and oranges. that was a game that was not advertised at all. it was also a Wednesday night that was rainy. don’t get me wrong, i don’t think Schalke would draw more than what it would take to fill that stadium (which isn’t big).
but i think comparing MLS announcing Raul signing (the all time Real Madrid and Champions League leading scorer) to a stupid, hardly advertised friendly between Philly and Schalke on a rainy Wednesday night, is wrong.
no, you need to wake up.
1. i said him not coming isn’t going to ruin MLS by any means
2. i never tried to compare him coming to Beckham coming
3. you are stupid if you don’t think a team exec wouldn’t want raul
4. he would absolutely put butts in seats and would sell jerseys (Beckham level? Absolutely not but still good numbers). have you see how many madrid fans come out to games in the US?! i’m on plenty of Madrid blogs and fans in the US who do not watch MLS said they would start watching if Raul was there. this does not mean sold out stadiums (just look at NYRB), but still an increase in overall attendance.
5. this is no different then the Italian community saying similar things regarding if they watch MLS now and would they if Gattuso, Del Piero, Zambrotta, and Inzaghi would come. the answer was “no” they do not watch now and “yes” if Italian legends like them came to MLS.
don’t be an a($)($) and try to make yourself sound smart by assuming i’m not thinking like an entertainment exec and that i think it’s anything remotely similar to Beckham. NOTHING will ever compare to Beckham unless Ronalinho, Ronaldo, Rooney or Messi came to MLS (not even Xavi or Iniesta would match Beckham, but you don’t think they would be good adds simply because they won’t watch Beckham in terms of raw numbers???).
to me, it seems you are naive to think players like Raul, Ruud, Anelka, Gattuso, Del Piero, Zambrotta, and Inzaghi would be a waste of time for MLS.
further, in no way shape or form do i think an MLS team should build a team of all 33+ guys. not a chance. you get 1 or 2 and then you use another DP slot on a younger player who would be interested in playing for your team with legends like Raul and Del Piero (as an example). then, assuming you have a coach who understand MLS, you find players to come in and bolster the lineup.
so i’m sorry, but maybe an entertainment from Columbus won’t think like that because they don’t have the cash, but an executive from New York, LA, Seattle, Montreal, etc. might think differently. people do have different opinions…
Please learn how to think like an entertainment exec and stop thinking like a fan.
There is no reason for MLS to go anywhere near any of these over-the-hill names because they won’t ever sell enough tickets or shirt sponsorships to justify the investment.
MLS made money on the Beckham deal because Beckham’s base salary was paid for by the Herbalife shirt logo deal. The Beckham deal was unique, with ZERO risk.
There was no reason for MLS to break the bank for Raul. Only 7500 showed up in Chester last Wednesday night. Raul does not sell tickets.
Right now, the top 3 guys who can sell tickets in the U.S. are:
Messi
Cristiano
Chicharito
(On deck behind those 3: Rooney and Van Persie)
MLS was lucky to have been able to get Beckham when he still had plenty of fuel left in the tank (because Cabbage Capello was a control freak and wanted to get rid of Beckham.)
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Cristiano will be an LA Galaxy player soon enough.
The L.A. lifestyle suits CR7.
Let’s see: Paris Hilton on Monday, Lindsay Lohan on Tuesday, one of the Kardashians on Wednesday, etc. etc. etc.
+1
Real fans dont care about stereotypes
I think you’re in the majority with that opinion, and I like seeing big names in the US as much as the next guy. I personally hope that the future of our league lies in the development of local talent (“local” in a broad, North, Central and South American sense).
If it meant better quality play, more enjoyable games to watch, I could live with being a Euro seniors circuit.
honestly, i think it sucks for MLS that Raul didn’t come here. he obviously was more concerned with money, which is too bad because i thought raul would rather play in a league that is actually growing. i think losing anelka to china and raul to qatar really sucks. don’t get me wrong, MLS will be absolutely okay without them. and who knows, they both could wind up here anyway. but i do not want to keep losing solid players to china and qatar right off the bat.
i was also hoping that ruud would come. these guys, even though they are mid 30s, are so talented that they would no doubt bring quality to MLS and teach the younger players a lot.
i guess we’ll see what happens with nesta, gattuso, del piero, inzaghi, zambrotta, and seedorf. although i think seedorf is off to brazil.
He signed a one year deal and probably to see what it’s like and if it’s a drag for him even though he’s paid handsomely then he may consider MLS after that. Even at 36 or 37 Raul will still have much to offer an MLS team.
I don’t want retirees coming over to MLS any more than most fans do but if the question was posed: Would it be good to have Raul on my MLS team? The answer is yes even it’s a year from now. He could score goals in MLS.
nothing legendary about him finishing his career in the mid east, no quality just money
I disagree. MLS is still viewed as Europe’s retirement league, and signing Raul would have further perpetuated that (often justified) stigma.
+1
But yeah… It’s the payday.
And in the best news I’ve woken up to in some time, McLeish is out at Aston Villa. Time for a fresh start.
Ok…so MLS is in competition with the older talent with Qatar and China. I would be interested in a write up on how our leagues compare. I have seen some interesting articles on MLS vs J-league…but we dont really seem to be loosing guys like Drogba and Raul to the J-league or even the Mexican league….it always seems to be MLS vs Qatar vs China for some of these older big name guys.
Maybe your hot soccer wife would rather live in CA compared to Qatar or your kids might find it easier to move from say Spain to Houston rather then China…but what about the soccer side? Are the teams profitable (or does it even matter there?), media coverage in those countries compared to here for the soccer big names, stadium atmosphere, on field talent besides the big names, etc? If its just about the payday and MLS offers are way off then that is simple enough…just curious if there are other factors in play here.
Maybe its just an MLS team offers 600k while a team in China offers 6million if that is the case then there is not much we can do…unless of course they are offering that kind of pay AND running in the black every week…if so maybe there are some things MLS can learn.
Don’t need Raul to increase attendance. Would have been a solid sigining, but I think MLS is progressing to the point where the league is not in need of 35 year olds to increase attendance. What I want to see is more of the academy kids jumping into the full first teams, not againg european players! MLS is unforgiving; it’s not a cakewalk, and the fans demand more from their teams then they did 5 years ago.
I agree with that.
MLS have to star opening their wallet for real talent like Raul, good thing about his that he just sign a one year only maybe he will change his mind and come to the MLS after his one year expire. MR Garber you want to increase talent and an attendance in the MLS Stadium well go after those player and fight for them against Quatar and China.
It’s not about the money money money
We don’t need your money money money
Just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the Price tag…
Or maybe not.
Raul may have been productive in MLS but he would have perpetuated the stereotype that ours is a “retirement league.” No loss.
Raul would have been a solid signing, even at his age.
Not just his production but also his professionalism, would have been a great asset to the league.
This is coming from someone who is sick and tired of seeing 35+ year olds flock to MLS.
Raul is one of the few exceptions, in my eyes.