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Villarreal pays $10 million for Altidore
VILLARREAL, Spain (AP) — American teenage striker Jozy Altidore signed a six-year contract with Villarreal and said Wednesday he was excited about joining the Spanish club.
Villarreal agreed to pay a transfer fee reportedly close to $10 million for the former New York Red Bulls player, nearly twice as much as the previous record for an American and more than the previous high for anyone from Major League Soccer.
The previous highest fee for an American was when Sunderland bought Claudio Reyna for $5.7 million in 2001, and Fulham paid $4 million for Clint Demspey after the 2006 MLS season.
Villarreal has yet to decide whether to incorporate the 18-year-old into its first-team squad for next season or loan him to another club.
Villarreal has a surfeit of strikers, with Uruguayan forward Robert Flores and Valladolid's Joseba Llorente also recently being acquired. The club's offense already has Turkey's Nihat Kahveci, Mexico's Guille Franco, Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson and American-born Giuseppe Rossi, formerly of Manchester United.
Among the leading scorers at last year's under-20 World Cup as the United States reached the quarterfinals, Altidore was a key member of the American team that qualified for the Olympics in April and is expected to lead the attack in Beijing.
However, if he plays in the Olympics he will miss Villarreal's preseason preparations.
Altidore has made three appearances for the U.S. national team and scored his first goal against Mexico in February, the youngest player to score for the United States in the modern era.
Villarreal, which finished runner-up to champion Real Madrid this season, has been looking for reinforcements to play next season in the European Champions League, in which it reached the semifinals in 2006.
It also signed Brazilian defensive midfielder Edmilson from FC Barcelona, while Uruguayan midfielder Sebastian Eguren has signed a permanent deal after spending last season on loan from Sweden's Hammarby.
VILLARREAL, Spain (AP) — American teenage striker Jozy Altidore signed a six-year contract with Villarreal and said Wednesday he was excited about joining the Spanish club.
Villarreal agreed to pay a transfer fee reportedly close to $10 million for the former New York Red Bulls player, nearly twice as much as the previous record for an American and more than the previous high for anyone from Major League Soccer.
The previous highest fee for an American was when Sunderland bought Claudio Reyna for $5.7 million in 2001, and Fulham paid $4 million for Clint Demspey after the 2006 MLS season.
Villarreal has yet to decide whether to incorporate the 18-year-old into its first-team squad for next season or loan him to another club.
Villarreal has a surfeit of strikers, with Uruguayan forward Robert Flores and Valladolid's Joseba Llorente also recently being acquired. The club's offense already has Turkey's Nihat Kahveci, Mexico's Guille Franco, Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson and American-born Giuseppe Rossi, formerly of Manchester United.
Among the leading scorers at last year's under-20 World Cup as the United States reached the quarterfinals, Altidore was a key member of the American team that qualified for the Olympics in April and is expected to lead the attack in Beijing.
However, if he plays in the Olympics he will miss Villarreal's preseason preparations.
Altidore has made three appearances for the U.S. national team and scored his first goal against Mexico in February, the youngest player to score for the United States in the modern era.
Villarreal, which finished runner-up to champion Real Madrid this season, has been looking for reinforcements to play next season in the European Champions League, in which it reached the semifinals in 2006.
It also signed Brazilian defensive midfielder Edmilson from FC Barcelona, while Uruguayan midfielder Sebastian Eguren has signed a permanent deal after spending last season on loan from Sweden's Hammarby.
