Altidore to be sold to Villarreal for $8 million (updated)

U.S. national team forward Jozy Altidore has been sold to Spanish club Villarreal for a fee of $8 million, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

The New York Red Bulls confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Villarreal on the fee. Sources tell SBI that the fee is $8 million with a sell-on clause and performance bonuses that could increase the fee to $10 million.

According to sources, Altidore has already reached an agreement on a new contract.

The sale shatters the old record for largest transfer of an MLS player, which was set when Clint Dempsey went from the New England Revolution to Fulham after the 2006 season.

The deal has been agree to in principle, but cannot become official until July 1, when the European transfer window opens.

Altidore is still expected to play in the Red Bulls match against Chivas USA on Thursday.

What do I think of the move? I think it's a dream move for a player who was ready for the jump. Yes, he did lose focus and was distracted by the impending European move, so he wasn't training or playing as well as he could have been for the Red Bulls, but he's still a good kid and quality prospect who could flourish in Spain (and let's face it, older and more experienced players have fallen victim to Europe-itis as well).

I have said for more than a year now that I thought Spain was the best league for him to go to and now not only will he be there but he will go to a smaller team where he can get playing time (assuming the scenario where Villarreal loans him to Recreativo Huelva happens.)

What will this mean for the Red Bulls? The team will be hard-pressed to replace him, but will have resources to bolster the team in several areas. They won't find a player as good as Altidore this year, but they will have the chance to add multiple upgrades this summer and will have a nice war chest to go and sign a high-profile designated player in 2009.

I also think that ultimately, losing Altidore early and getting a chance to replace him this season could have its advantages. Altidore was slated to miss considerable time with U.S. national and Olympic team duties, so now the club will be able to acquire a player who will be here the full schedule and who presumably won't be distracted by an impending move to Europe.

What do you think of the news? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[inkedAG]

Great for Jozy!! No he better get his head on straight or he'll be sitting on the bench at Huelva!! The US Nats DO NOT need Eddie Johnson 2.0

Great for the league to as it gives MLS a good profile. Now they have to work harder to make the league better.

Not so good for RBNY, but nothing is ever good with them, so I can't whine about that.

[4now]

Oh WOW!
First Obama and now this!!!!

Good week.

[joe k]

can the mls change the rules again and give the red bulls an extra DP slot to compensate for jozy's departure?

it's really the only fair thing to do.

[Adam R.]

Ives...can we assume Jozy will be held out of the lineup between now and July 1st?

And please refresh my memory as to how it works with the transfer fee...will NY get a portion of it? How much? And are they free to spend it on players?

[littlerockannt]

Wow! and to my favorite league...I guess I'll be buying a villareal shirt!

[Don]

can't believe this is actually happening. hard to grasp. congrats and good luck jozy!

[Matt]

Best of luck Jozy from Metro fans everywhere! Knock 'em dead.

[Coach]

$10 mil? Not bad, not bad at all. Goodbyes are often sad, but good for us, great for Jozy!

[nathan3e]

If his attitude really has become as piss poor as has been reported, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a league where his place in the team is not assured every week.

[Aljarov]

NYRB get what, $5m of the fee (what is the split again? 50/50 or 67/33?)

That gives them a LOT of money to go out and sign some players...without having to rely on freebies which should open up their options considerably.

Or they could keep it and put it towards offsetting the horrendous losses at Meadowlands, new stadium... etc...

[Dr. Modibo]

This helps to explain some of his listlessness on the field of late - he had at least 10 million reasons to be distracted.

[tedhill]

I concur with most everyone here that this is a good move for him. He will be in the best league and on a team (assuming they loan him to Huelva) that he should get significant playing time and opportunity to improve. I don't think the attitude is much of a concern. I think he had this bad attitude because he knows he should be in Europe and not in the MLS. Well now he is in La Liga and he will be motivated to improve and perform well. I may have to pick up a Villareal Altidore shirt as soon as he is in the starting eleven there.

[Mike]

Wonderful news. Great for Jozy, great for the Red Bulls. If I remember the rules correctly, the RB get to keep 2/3 of the $10 mil and use it in a variety of ways, including new contracts, salary cap offsets, acquistion money, etc. This is probably why/how they got to sign Rojas from Venezuela. This move should make them much more competitive and give them a leg up on signing new DPs next year.

[Ralph]

With Jozy leaving let us bring in Johan Smith to the RBNY team. That could work well or I would like to see RBNY bring in Kirk and play him up front or RM and have Richard play up top. Anyways I am glad that MLS did the right thing and sold Jozy. He wanted that move to Europe soon, and I believe MLS did good this time. MLS is a seller league and should sell for the moment. Dang it now I got to get GOLTV for real.

[Mighty]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Adios Jozy!!

[bkyn]

Marca says 10 million euros which is $15.5 million.

http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/villarreal/es/desarrollo/1131118.html

[Don]

Wow 15.5 million. That will stand as a US record for a long time

[Eric515]

Wow - that is huge for him. I agree with the posts saying he was probably distracted. Let's hope this continues his development, and he's a regular in their lineup by...oh...I don't know...'09-'10? :)

[Mighty]

Good job Ives.... getting this Information!! you the Man!

[Speedball]

bkyn -

The Marca article says that only part of the $10 M Euros from the sale of Cáceres could go to buying Altidore.

[Mikemike]

Man oh man.
How much is GOL TV?

[FirstStar]

Great move-- the Spanish game will be very good for Jozy's development. Perhaps he may even come to thank Arena for playing him out left all those matches.

[brent]

Jozy start learning spanish immediately. It could save your career.

[HomeyBoehme]

FOR ONCE THE ESPN ANNOUNCERS WILL BE FORCED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN DAVID BECKHAM DURING A USMNT MATCH!!!! Congrats Jozy!

Man...this is like one of the biggest f-in' news days...and the f-in' Spain vs. USA match isn't even for another couple hours! I am so f-in' pumped up now!

F yeah! Spain can beat us 12-1 and I still wouldn't f-in care!

[Ives]

The 10 million euro figure is what Villarreal got in the Caceres deal, NOT what they're spending on Altidore. It could be what they pay in combined fees for Altidore and Robert Flores.

[irishapple21]

Congrats to Jozy. I hope he gets playing time unlike the debacle that greeted Adu at Benfica.

[brett]

Great for Jozy, good for the Redbulls and great for the league....

but what will the redbulls do without their leading goal scorer :P

[anon_e_moose]

Last year when I was watching the US play in the U20. I told my dad about how everyone(only amuricans actually) thought that Adu was going to be a great player. His response was, "yea, u know that kid wearing #12 is really good. whats his name?"

[john]

If tomorrow's his last home game I'm there. What do you all think?

[RK]

I get Gol TV for $5...

I'll be interested to see if he does go to Huelva, because if he doesn't, all we're going to hear are complaints about Adu-like playing time.

[Amit]

I am happy for Jozy! I was pulling for a move to La Liga. I'm just wondering how bad RBNY is after this move. Unless someone has a wonder year out of nowhere, we're screwed.

[chris]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO JOZY

[royce]

sweet. sweet. now we just need a european offer for ching and/or rodgers and we're good through 2010

[Felix]

It's sad in the sense that MLS can't afford to keep players like Altidore. But for the sake of the national team and Altidore, this is huge!! I'm really excited for him in that regard. And I hope he does well over there, no matter where he plays, Villarreal, Huelva, or wherever. IF he does well in La Liga, that'll open doors for other American players.

[Amit]

Every time I walk by a bus stop with Jozy's poster in it I might have to cry a little bit on the inside.

[Fire Ron Guenther]

Good luck to Jozy! and if he is loaned to Recreativo Huelva, that is an opportunity for lots of PT. Hopefully he seizes this chance.

Good PR for MLS also.

[chris]

Good news for Jozy bad for RBNY. Some of the posts on here are wrong about MLS rules. RBNY are only allowed to put 5ook of that transfer fee towards getting other players. It doesnt do much for them.

[ohmyessien]

i have been waiting for this moment so i could stop following this wretched excuse for a soccer team. altidore was the only reason i followed this marketing arm of red bull.

fantastic news. i hope he earns a spot with whatever team he gets loaned out to.

[Trex]

Happy for Jozy, but sad to see him go. He'll always be a favorite of mine. I'll never forget being in giants stadium and watching him come across the goal and rip that shot against the Galaxy! Man, this is crazy news.

[ohmyessien]

How about McBride to Red Bull?

[tedhill]

I can't wait to hear, "Golaso! GOOOLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSOOOOO de Altidore!"

[Rocco]

Wow 10MM, I can't believe it. Good luck Jozy!.

This can only help US Soccer abroad and domestically.

Red Bull needs to sign some youth now. Kassell & Exantus, lets go!!! The heck with U Conn and Columbia. Its going to get old quick.

[Sandro]

Good Luck Jozy. For now I will not say what the Red Bulls should do, because this is Jozy's time. I will just say Congratulations, Josmer Altidore. It was a pleasure seeing you with NY. Hopefully you can hone and grow your skills in the spanish league. Good luck with your future endeavors.

Jozy, you have offered us many great moments from your rookie year, Beckham game, and today. For me personally it was a pleasure meeting you after a game. You were a down to earth guy whom someone can follow and root for. Best of luck!

[brett]

ohmyessien- why do you build up such hopes?? you're only going to be let down...

[brett]

Rocco- perhaps this is why both Kassell and Exantus continue to train with the redbulls... b/c the RB's knew jozy was gone this summer....

even from a fire fan's standpoint that makes sense...

[joe k]

great -- now the red bulls just need a striker in addition to a left back, a central defender (since mendes apparently forgot how to play), a backup defensive-mid, and an attacking playmaker.

a right wing who can cross consistently could be good too.

[Pat the Red Bulls Fan]

Sweet. Go get em Jozy! Work your ass off!

[JustinR]

Altidore and Rossi up front, that should be the US combo as well. Why Rossi, whyyyyyyyy

[El Rey]

Good for Jozy. Good for the Fire since we have two games left against NYRB and now won't have to worry about marking him. I can't wait to see how the RBFO will screw this golden opportunity up. Maybe offer John O'Brien a DP slot and money next year?

[Reid]

this is great news for salzburg, now they dont have to pay attention to the team until the next youth player is ready to transfer out. Converting Euros to Euros is great

[Brian Lomax]

Congrats Jozy, great move. On the plus/negative side, now we'll finally be able to see what an Altidore/Rossi tandem would have looked like..

[Jamie Z.]

I can't explain how relieved I am he didn't go to a Fulham or Reading. On the surface of it, this looks like a great move and a great opportunity for Jozy.

[HomeyBoehme]

So does this also have something to do with the DP coming June 2008 banner ads? This definitely opens a spot for Henry coming to NYRB.

[h4]

Can somebody refresh my recollection -- do RDNY have the extra DP from Chivas forever? If so, that a crazy-bad deal for Chivas and brilliant by RBNY.

[Joamiq]

Wow . . . great for Jozy, but I can't believe I'm never going to see him in a Red Bulls jersey again . . .

[PCFC]

Glad to hear the confirmation. MLSRumors (stupidest site) posted the same article that you did earlier, but now there is a confirmation. Good Luck to Jozy, I feel sad to see him go however. The Bulls will never be the same. Hopefully, he will announce his last day, not just leave like Adu.

[mikeK]

Well... this is depressing. I was hoping he'd stick until the winter. Well... Good luck Jozy. Even if you're no longer part of my red bulls, you're always going to be USMNT, so learn quickly. And come back to us one day.

[Dominghosa]

This is the right time for Jozy to go. He's at the age where development mentally and physically are essential.
This should be a win-win. SHOULD.
Great news. Good luck, Jozy.

[kpugs]

Holy crap $10 mil!

[Danny]

Thank you Jozy (and MLS) for going to a decent team. Imagine had Jozy been sold to Reading. YUCK! Now he can learn in Spain and grow to meet his potential. He also gets away from the U.S. which hasn't been kind to up and coming young soccer stars.

Way to go all sides involved. Now if we can only get Freddy Adu some actual playing time somewhere. I would love to see him move to a lesser Italian club.

[brett]

HomeyBoehme- and just where are you going to get a 3rd DP slot??

h4- i may be wrong, and someone correct me if i am, but i think it was a 4 yr deal... still brilliant of the Redbulls, just poor use of it :D

[groovester]

Why would jozy play in any of the remaining games before July 1. What if he gets injured?

[brett]

Danny- "He also gets away from the U.S. which hasn't been kind to up and coming young soccer stars."

what??

[smorebs]

This is both great and sad news. I'll miss watching him on the Giants Stadium Pitch but, he is moving on the bigger better things.

Ives, could you see if he would be willing to guest blog on your site to keep somewhat connected to his US fan base?

Thanks!

[kpugs]

Don't get ahead of yourself Justin, if Jozy isn't loaned out I doubt he'll see much if any first team action at Villareal. Not only are we talking about the team that finished second in La Liga, but they are also absolutely stacked up front.

[eric]

I'm genuinely shocked that it finally went thru. Been rumored for so long, I guess I was pretty numb to it. So glad it's La Liga!

Also hope that he did break the $10 mil milestone, not that it really matters, I just think he's worth it, even if he hasn't looked right all year.

Huge congrats to Jozy, and condolences to RB fans, your team is way up a certain creek, and a paddle won't help, you need about 5 quality players.

[TCompton]

I'm not so sure it really hurts Red Bull New York. It's not like he's been producing like they've expected. It actually gives them the opportunity to get more production out of someone without the fear of losing them.

[Christian]

wow, I'm truly excited and very happy for Jozy. This is a top notch club who will be playing Champions League football next year and will be a great learning experience for him.

He will most likely get loaned out the first season since Villareal have some great attacking players (Rossi, Franco, Nihat, etc) so it'll be interesting to see who he will displace when he returns.

Congrats Jozy!!

[Freddie Footballer]

I'm glad we got this good news today, because I'm expecting to receive bad news later in a loss to Spain by the Nats (although one can hope not).

[Chosun]

So can RBNY pay off Reyna now and free up a DP slot? I'm happy for Jozy...I think this is a great move!

[JSquaredNY]

Doesn't this screw over RBNY right now? Aren't they only allowed to use $500k to new player signings? Where is the rest of the money going to, MLS?

[JeffM]

This is great news. Valencia is a quality team in a quality league, and I think Jozy's got a good chance to see significant minutes (I don't think that would have been the case right away with Real Madrid). Am I wrong, or is this the best team for which an American striker has ever played?

Also, what's bad for the Red Bulls is good for DC :-).

[CACuzcatlan]

The Dutch, Portuguese, and French leagues can't afford to keep their best players, so quit complaining. Its the reality of football.

[KingSnake]

I think Altidore is freaking fool if he plays this week.

[Aguinaga]

Ives, have read several other reports stating max value to Red Bulls for the transfer is $500,000 plus an allocation. What gives, can you explain why they wouldn't receive more than that?? Is this another shady MLS overlord thing?? Seems ridiculously unfair to RB given how much he is worth to them and how much further depleted the team will be now. Thanks.

[Joamiq]

I hope the loan goes through. I'd be happy to see him play significant minutes for Recreativo.

[ohmyessien]

@JeffM

1. It's Villareal, not Valencia. Big difference. One is struggling, the other is Villareal.
2. Keller played for Liverpool, Howard for Manchester United, Beasley for Rangers, Meola for the Ironmen. Get a hold of yourself.

And what's bad for RBNY is everything.

[NJ Guy Stuck in DC]

Ankle injury? Ingrown toenails anyone? Make sense now?

[Bob]

Seems to me that this is a good move. Villareal is not the team for him at the moment, but they seem to do a pretty nice job of bringing young players up when the time is right.

I hope Jozy has some concept of what soccer in Spain is like. Ives, perhaps you could slip him a copy of Phil Ball's excellent book Morbo.

La Liga is the league I watch the most, so I am excited to see Jozy when he matches up with Real Madrid.

[NJ Guy Stuck in DC]

This is great news for Jozy. Congrats!

And I feel for Angel. A consummate professional, I hope Osorio comes through with the promised help!

[Mark]

I agree with the prevailing sentiment on the blog, fantastic news.

Is there a chance that Altidore and Rossi can play together? Not sure if Rossi is still on the books at Villareal.

As a RBNY fan, I hope this pile of cash is put to good use getting some more pieces to the puzzle so we're ready to win something our first year in the new building.

[John]

Sorry Ives, but you're dead wrong about the UEFA transfer window - that's open now. The FIFA player registration date is July 1, but all transactions can be signed and monies wired today.

The hold up in the deal is the MLS transfer window (June 15 - August 15). Once June 15 comes, the deal will be signed and the cash wired.

UEFA transfer window opened: June 1
FIFA player registration date: July 1
UEFA transfer window closes: August 31

MLS transfer window opens: June 15
MLS transfer window closes: August 15
MLS trade deadline: September 15
MLS discovery signing deadline: September 15

[David Berger]

Bring in McBride.

[HomeyBoehme]

@brett - What works in LA has to work in NY. I mean, LA has 3 DP's!

Ultimately, my post was more "someone please tell me wtf these DP coming June 2008 banner ads mean" becuase they are driving me crazy. It is June 4th. Tell us what the f-in' news is already. I don't want to wait another 26 days.

This Jozy move has only heightened my curiosity because this is huge news, but definitely not the huge news the banner ad is referring to. I have already seen one confirmation the banner ad has nothing to do with McBride coming back to the MLS so something/someone else momentous must be on the way. Please someone tell us.

[kahlva]

Ives,

The transfer money can't be used on players, right? I'm under the assumption that teams have a set amount they can spend on players (the cap), with exceptions like allocation money - and this is all actually paid for by MLS.

So transfer money is actually just used for stuff like stadiums, training facilities, coaches, etc. NOT on purchasing players or paying their salaries.

Is that correct?

[Seisco]

YESSS!!! GOOD LUCK JOZY!!!!

[zeusbrowne]

@ John

We go through this every transfer window. The only transfer window that matters is the one for the destination FA. Our transfer window here doesn't mean a thing in Spain.

[brett]

HomeyBoehme- perhaps TFC has someone in their pockets.... they have been banging away at getting a DP... witht he opening of another intl' slot, i wonder if they plan on spending their soon to acquire Allocation $$ on another decent/big name to run with the new DP...??

either way, where are you seeing these adds??

[danj]

I was at the Bernabeu for a Huelva-Real match in October. It ended 2-0 but could have been much worse. Given a rational coach, Jozy will get some playing time there and I wouldn't be surprised if he got a good number of goals, though not wins.

[Thom]

Let's get real here. Now we will find out if this kid has what it takes. He has been way off form since last year. He is going to environment where it will be basically sink or swim and coming from one that protected him and brought him along. It is my understanding that physical and time demands of the training regime in Spain are higher than any other major European league so that will be a real shock to his system.

Altidore seems like a nice kid with a load of talent. But a lot of kids had a load of talent at 18 and never panned out. This will be the setting where the truth about what kind of player Altidore will be and how he is remembered 15 years from now will be sorted out. Remember we few diehard American soccer fans have had a few players over the years we all had such hopes for that didn't quite cut it at the highest levels.

Good luck and congratulations to you Jozy, stay healthy, keep a level head, treat people in a way that honors your country and treat every training and game opportunity as if it's your last.
Worst case scenario- if you manage your money correctly you should be set for life and that for being just 18 is fantastic regardless what happens on the pitch

[Simona]

Oh wow! Best of Luck Jozy. La Liga is pretty awesome.

[paul Lorinczi]

This is good because he is going to the right league.

I am happy he is not going to England. Playing in a technical league is better for our players than RUN, HEAD, KICK-EPL.

I still think Dempsey should move to Spain too. His creativity would be appreciated there.

[Thom]

Question Ives or whomever knows:

Is Reyna's money guranteed? He is just awful at this point and with Altidore's departure the Red Bulls will be in dire straits with just Angel to reley on.

This team- coming from a causal observer- seems to be in real trouble for the rest of the season and what is bad for NYRB is bad for the MLS.

[HomeyBoehme]

@brett - Offside Rules and The Original Winger. The Original Winger actually did a post about it, which has some cryptic specifics: http://theoriginalwinger.com/2008-05-29-designated-players-coming-soon#comments

[scott47a]

Given the MLS salary cap, the money is relatively meaningless.

I mean I know it sets a good precedent for MLS stars to move on at a fair price. But it's not like Red Bull can plow that money back into players. There isn't $8 million (or even $4 million, if the league gets half) under the salary cap.

So really, as fans, it's nice to be happy for Jozy, but it really means we will get little back on the field in return.

[brian hartman]

ohhhh the irony, altidore & rossi up top. let's start a "rossi sux" club.

[cam]

guess ill be buying an altidore yellow submarine shirt... does anyone know where you can get villareal shirts? i cant find them anywhere

[eric]

Great timing, thinking about it more. Get Jozy out of MLS so he can rest up, get his head on straight, and whoop some a$$ at the Olympics!

[J]

not to go off on a tangent here, but this also points out a major flaw to MLS's academy system. If teams were allowed to bring in as many academy players as possible to the first team, than you could in theory have a quite a few Jozy Altidore's that teams could then make money on transfer fees. This would be an interesting way for smaller market teams to actually compete against the bigger clubs.However, with rules limiting the amount of youth players allowed to the first team, for the short term, I don't see the Jozy Altidore scenario happening often.

[brett]

J- i dont understand why there are rules about academy players....