By DAN KARELL
Kaka may very well have a Brazilian Designated Player to team up with next year for Orlando City SC.
AC Milan forward Robinho has been the subject of plenty of transfer speculation recently and a number of reports in Italy believe his next destination is in MLS with Orlando. At a press conference on Friday, AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said that negotiations are underway with Orlando City but Robinho is still a Milan player for now.
“Robinho wants to go to MLS,” Galliani said. “The negotiations with Orlando have begun. They want Robinho, but we’re not close to concluding the deal. The relationship (we have) with Robinho remains excellent though and it is just one of the many negotiations that are ongoing.”
Since moving abroad to Real Madrid in 2005, Robinho has never quite lived up to the superstar expectations, though he’s managed to make a solid career for himself in Europe. In four seasons with Milan, he’s scored 25 Serie A goals, but has only scored five in the past two seasons, playing a spot-starting role.
If the 30-year-old Santos product did sign with Orlando, he’d likely spend the fall months on loan with another club, similar to Kaka, before returning when Orlando begin preparing for their inaugural MLS campaign.
Here are some more stories from around MLS:
NGUYEN SUSPENDED FOR STAMP ON RSL’S STERTZER
The New England Revolution will be without arguably their best player so far this season when they take on the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
The MLS Disciplinary Committee handed down a one-match suspension and fine to Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen for “endangering the safety of an opponent and bringing the game into disrepute.” Nguyen stepped on the back of Real Salt Lake midfielder John Stertzer while the latter was on the ground in the 57th minute of RSL’s 2-1 victory on July 4.
Nguyen was not shown a card when the incident occurred during the match. You can watch the incident here.
GALAXY END LOAN DEAL WITH SAMUEL
The Los Angeles Galaxy have decided to end their loan agreement with Samuel, sending the Brazilian forward back to Fluminense ahead of the resumption of the Brazilian league season.
Samuel was acquired prior to the start of the 2014 MLS season but only made 12 appearances in all competitions, including four starts in MLS. He scored once for the Galaxy, in their 1-0 victory against Club Tijuana, though the Galaxy were knocked out on goal differential.
The departure of Samuel opens up an international spot for the Galaxy to use and gives Rob Friend a chance to permanently win the starting job alongside Robbie Keane.
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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Robinho moving to Orlando City for next season? Agree with the Nguyen suspension? What did you think of Samuel’s time in LA?
Share your thoughts below.