Benfica sign Adu

While reading footy gossip this morning I came across 'US teenage star Freddy Adu has signed for Benfica for £1.5m. (Daily Mirror)' having then looked on the two usual footy sites for info (BBC & Sky Sports) there appears to not a lot on this story.

Wikipeda, LOL, does have 'In late July, after the conclusion of that tournament, Benfica was the winner in a bidding war for Adu's club services, and he was transferred on 30 July for a fee of $2 million USD pending a successful medical examination.' I checked the footnote and was directed to this http://sdmlsproject.com/adulationbenfica.html.

So I presume there's som truth in this?! A bit of a weird transfer!

That's a decent price. Interesting to see how this American Idol teenager star will do in the European league.

I would have thought he'd gone to a premiership club, mainly for the language.

It is a done deal. Signed and sealed. Also it is 1.5M Euros for MLS + 500k Euros to Salt Lake, his former team, so it is more or less 1.3M Pounds.
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Alive and Kicking wrote:That's a decent price. Interesting to see how this American Idol teenager star will do in the European league.

I would have thought he'd gone to a premiership club, mainly for the language.

Difficult to get a work permit for the premiership...

So He's going to spend 4 years in Portugal and get a EU passport?

I think he'll do alright in Portugal although I remember before an American Journalist I think it was saying Keep him on his right side and he can't do anything, making a reference that he is solely left footed so that may be a negative.

american media hype all the way baby!
COME ON THE JIHADERS!

Adu reaches lucrative deal to play for Benfica
Associated Press

LISBON, Portugal -- Freddy Adu, the American phenom who is one of the highest-profile stars of Major League Soccer, has agreed to play for Benfica and trained with the Portuguese club Tuesday.

MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis told The Associated Press that Adu's agent Richard Motzkin had confirmed the deal.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder arrived in the Portuguese capital Monday to negotiate terms. There were no immediate plans to introduce the player to the media.

"Freddy, when we signed him, was one of most talented young players in the world. I think, today, he still is one of the most young talented players in the world," Gazidis said. "What we've struggled with is the expectations, not that we've placed on him, but that the media has placed on him."

MLS and Benfica agreed last week to a $2 million transfer fee for Adu, the U.S. captain at the under-20 World Cup in Canada in July.

Besides the transfer fee, MLS is in position to gain a percentage of any future transfer of Adu from Benfica to another club, Gazidis said.

Adu signed with D.C. United in 2003 at age 14, becoming the youngest player in the league's history. Real Salt Lake acquired Adu from D.C. United last year knowing that when he turned 18 last month he would become eligible under FIFA rules to join a foreign club.

"Freddy's been very devoted to working hard, being a contributor," Gazidis said. "He became a better and more mature player. He's still only 18. When we step outside the world of MLS, a good league with veteran players, and put him with his peers on a world stage -- and peers that are older than him -- Freddy clearly has progressed."

Adu missed more than a month of Real Salt Lake's season while he captained the U.S. team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Adu had three goals and four assists as the Americans went 3-1-1 in the tournament.

Benfica is one of Europe's storied clubs, having won the European championship in 1961 and '62 while led by the great Eusebio. However, Benfica has faded, winning the Portuguese title only once in the last 13 years. It finished third in the league last season.

The 18-club Portuguese Super Liga is one of Europe's second-tier championships. Only three clubs -- Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto -- make enough money to compete with their continental rivals.

Still, Portugal has produced such international stars as Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, now at Inter Milan, who was voted FIFA's World Player of the Year in 2001.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press