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.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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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.
Posted by: inkedAG | June 04, 2008 at 01:20 PM
Oh WOW!
First Obama and now this!!!!
Good week.
Posted by: 4now | June 04, 2008 at 01:21 PM
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.
Posted by: joe k | June 04, 2008 at 01:22 PM
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?
Posted by: Adam R. | June 04, 2008 at 01:23 PM
Wow! and to my favorite league...I guess I'll be buying a villareal shirt!
Posted by: littlerockannt | June 04, 2008 at 01:24 PM
can't believe this is actually happening. hard to grasp. congrats and good luck jozy!
Posted by: Don | June 04, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Best of luck Jozy from Metro fans everywhere! Knock 'em dead.
Posted by: Matt | June 04, 2008 at 01:25 PM
$10 mil? Not bad, not bad at all. Goodbyes are often sad, but good for us, great for Jozy!
Posted by: Coach | June 04, 2008 at 01:26 PM
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.
Posted by: nathan3e | June 04, 2008 at 01:26 PM
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...
Posted by: Aljarov | June 04, 2008 at 01:27 PM
This helps to explain some of his listlessness on the field of late - he had at least 10 million reasons to be distracted.
Posted by: Dr. Modibo | June 04, 2008 at 01:28 PM
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.
Posted by: tedhill | June 04, 2008 at 01:29 PM
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.
Posted by: Mike | June 04, 2008 at 01:30 PM
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.
Posted by: Ralph | June 04, 2008 at 01:32 PM
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Adios Jozy!!
Posted by: Mighty | June 04, 2008 at 01:32 PM
Marca says 10 million euros which is $15.5 million.
http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/villarreal/es/desarrollo/1131118.html
Posted by: bkyn | June 04, 2008 at 01:32 PM
Wow 15.5 million. That will stand as a US record for a long time
Posted by: Don | June 04, 2008 at 01:34 PM
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? :)
Posted by: Eric515 | June 04, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Good job Ives.... getting this Information!! you the Man!
Posted by: Mighty | June 04, 2008 at 01:34 PM
bkyn -
The Marca article says that only part of the $10 M Euros from the sale of Cáceres could go to buying Altidore.
Posted by: Speedball | June 04, 2008 at 01:39 PM
Man oh man.
How much is GOL TV?
Posted by: Mikemike | June 04, 2008 at 01:40 PM
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.
Posted by: FirstStar | June 04, 2008 at 01:40 PM
Jozy start learning spanish immediately. It could save your career.
Posted by: brent | June 04, 2008 at 01:41 PM
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!
Posted by: HomeyBoehme | June 04, 2008 at 01:42 PM
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.
Posted by: Ives | June 04, 2008 at 01:42 PM
Congrats to Jozy. I hope he gets playing time unlike the debacle that greeted Adu at Benfica.
Posted by: irishapple21 | June 04, 2008 at 01:42 PM
Great for Jozy, good for the Redbulls and great for the league....
but what will the redbulls do without their leading goal scorer :P
Posted by: brett | June 04, 2008 at 01:43 PM
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?"
Posted by: anon_e_moose | June 04, 2008 at 01:44 PM
If tomorrow's his last home game I'm there. What do you all think?
Posted by: john | June 04, 2008 at 01:44 PM
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.
Posted by: RK | June 04, 2008 at 01:44 PM
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.
Posted by: Amit | June 04, 2008 at 01:44 PM
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO JOZY
Posted by: chris | June 04, 2008 at 01:45 PM
sweet. sweet. now we just need a european offer for ching and/or rodgers and we're good through 2010
Posted by: royce | June 04, 2008 at 01:46 PM
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.
Posted by: Felix | June 04, 2008 at 01:46 PM
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.
Posted by: Amit | June 04, 2008 at 01:47 PM
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.
Posted by: Fire Ron Guenther | June 04, 2008 at 01:48 PM
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.
Posted by: chris | June 04, 2008 at 01:50 PM
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.
Posted by: ohmyessien | June 04, 2008 at 01:50 PM
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.
Posted by: Trex | June 04, 2008 at 01:51 PM
How about McBride to Red Bull?
Posted by: ohmyessien | June 04, 2008 at 01:51 PM
I can't wait to hear, "Golaso! GOOOLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSOOOOO de Altidore!"
Posted by: tedhill | June 04, 2008 at 01:55 PM
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.
Posted by: Rocco | June 04, 2008 at 01:56 PM
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!
Posted by: Sandro | June 04, 2008 at 01:57 PM
ohmyessien- why do you build up such hopes?? you're only going to be let down...
Posted by: brett | June 04, 2008 at 01:59 PM
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...
Posted by: brett | June 04, 2008 at 02:01 PM
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.
Posted by: joe k | June 04, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Sweet. Go get em Jozy! Work your ass off!
Posted by: Pat the Red Bulls Fan | June 04, 2008 at 02:02 PM
Altidore and Rossi up front, that should be the US combo as well. Why Rossi, whyyyyyyyy
Posted by: JustinR | June 04, 2008 at 02:03 PM
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?
Posted by: El Rey | June 04, 2008 at 02:03 PM
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
Posted by: Reid | June 04, 2008 at 02:04 PM