Ronaldo offered $120 million to play in MLS
According to Fox Sports Net - Fox Soccer Report, Brazilian striker Ranaldo was offered $120 million over ten years to come play for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
Ronaldo has expressed interest in playing in the U.S. later in his career but further stated that he is very happy where he is at now.
14 Responses to Ronaldo offered $120 million to play in MLS
MLS strikes out again. In 1999 they offered Davor Suker then languishing on the bench at Arsenal a crazy sum of money to come over and he turned it down.
In 2000 the league spent $4 million to buy Luis Hernandez’s contract and that didn’t work out very well. That same year the league brought in Lothar Mathaeus, Khodabab Azizi, Miklos Molnar, Andres Limpar and one or two other former World Cup stars and all were in and out of the league in a season or two.
MLS seems to be doing alright with younger American players and some well known past their prime internationals. However the New York franchise is a big problem for the league both in financial and results terms.
MLS is a better league than all of you may think. They don’t need a Ronaldo or Beckham to appeal to real futbol fans like me. I could care less if some guy who is going to cost millions and is always hurt decides to stay on the bench at Real. It’s his loss not ours.
Both MLS and the Mexican leagues are under appreaciated. Mexico always advances out of the first round without any players particpating in what the media calls power leagues. USA advanced to the quarterfinals and should have at least had an overtime to get to the seminfinals with a roster made up almost totally of guys who began their playing in MLS. The strength of European leagues is a myth.
I know enough about MLS to realize that the New York franchise is not worth playing for. They had too stars of the World Cup Final in 1994 on the team the first year, Donodoni from Italy and some Brazilian guy. Yet the team was still the worst in the league. I don’t watch MLS anymore and have not for years but I do know the Metrostars are the worst team going, possibly in all of American pro sports. Why someone of Ronaldo’s stature would even entertain playing for them is beyond me.
This offer has nothing to do with MLS and everything to do with the new owners of the NY franchise.
MLS did everything it could to make the NY team relevant by giving them every international “name” player available Donadoni, Branco, Matthaus, and now Djorkaeff.
Now that Red Bull has taken over by purchasing the team, it is up to them to identify and sign players. It would be their money that would cover such a huge contract as they offered Ronaldo.
Red Bull would be better off spending 120M on a stadium that was really in “New York”.
Well said USA 06.
Even though the Metros got the arguably league’s best first year int’l signing Roberto Donodoni, they stunk. (Carolos Valderamma was the other top first year int’l signing of note) Keep in mind Donodoni was still a starter for Italy’s Euro 96 squad. Then they were given a deal where they had Hurtado and Savarese up front together and still could not win. In those days MLS teams did not have that lethal a strike force combo. Then came the Sasa Curcic and Mahomamed Khakpour year that saw the Metors with leagues all time worst record. Khakpour, an Iranian World Cup veteran was so-so, but Curcic who was a big name in Serbia was one of the bigger busts in the histiory of the league and that is saying alot. Then they got Matthaus and were decent only due to Clint Mathis arriving at midseason when LA was awarded Luis Hernandez and thus LA had to dump a star player. Then they fell back to the dpeths of despair and even Djorkaeff solid form for a 37 year old cannot prevent them from being a joke. Why? My theory is the Meodowlands and lack of a soccer specific satdium to draw an ethnic soccer frenzied crowd from New York City. As you said until Red Bull addresses that, the team can get any big star and still have lackluster attendence for most games and not be very good.
Why would a footballer of Ronaldo’s quality even entertain going to play in a minor league. MLS is like out 3rd division here in England.
Maybe because USA is the greatest country in the world.
Dean,
You are wrong about the MLS. The MLS All-Stars beat Fulham last year.
DC United played Chelsea tough.
I’m certainly not saying MLS is Premiership quality but they could play with the first division teams.
Hey The Dean you obviously have never watched MLS but let me tell you something. As Gregg pointed out Chelsea your overpriced arrogant team had a hard time beating DC United who is on a strict salary cap last year and I’ve seen several games where English teams bringing respectable players have lost to lower ranked MLS sides. Sure the EPL is better than MLS, no one would question that. but to just dismiss MLS out of hand is crazy. Yourri Djorkef who was a starter on a world champion team plays in MLS. How many English players have won a world cup since you claim they are the best team in the world.
mls is very good for newer league. soon it will be one of the best in the world.
Please! Ronaldo would score 5 goals a game in your piddly minor league. What utter rubbish that he’d even consider jumping to the equal of street football against a bunch of university children!
It would be nice if Ronoldo could score 5 goals a game in MLS but the fact is not one European or South American import has ever dominated the league.
The real question is can Ronoldo Red Bull sell 5 more tickets a game?
Talking about the virtues of other leagues compared to the MLS brings back memories of the NASL. With an all star bunch of imported players from the world over, the league play in NASL was lack luster compared to games played in the current MLS. A few stars such as Van Beveren, Chinaglia, Cubilas, Best and Figeroa stood out, but the league play in my opinion was inferior to the current MLS where very few foreign players of the Van Beveren caliber play. Don’t sell MLS short!
NASL was a league filled with over the hill brits and others treating ameerica like a drunk vacation. MLS is a quality league that develops young players of an international caliber. Many top US players started in MLS before moving abroad as did int’l superstars Shaun Bartlett, Stern John and Damani Ralph.