Spanish club Villareal reached an agreement in principle with Major League Soccer and New York Red Bulls to sign Jozy Altidore, the 18 year-old striker, a club official said Wednesday morning.
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Jozy Altidore, 18, had said he wanted to play for Arsenal or Barcelona by age 23.
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Altidore, whose lightning pace and eye for goal have already made him a star in the United States, must still negotiate personal terms with the club and pass a medical exam to complete the transfer negotiated by M.L.S. which owns all of its players’ contracts. A fee has not yet been announced, but a club official confirmed that it will be the largest transfer fee paid for an M.L.S. player. A portion of that money will be allocated to the Red Bulls for club development.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for our organization and for M.L.S. as well,” said Jeff Agoos, the Red Bulls’ sporting director. “But I think in the player’s best interest, I think this is the right way to go.”
Altidore made his professional debut for the Red Bulls in 2006 and scored 18 goals in 29 games through his first two seasons. This year, he leads his side in scoring with three goals in eight appearances, though the Red Bulls have made a mediocre start (3-3-3).
The deal had been rumored since May, but at the time Altidore said that he wasn’t aware of anything concrete.
“I know there’s been more talk this week about me and a Spanish team, Villareal,” he wrote in a blog post on nytimes.com in May. “I don’t know much about the team, other than they wear all yellow, the Yellow Submarine, which is the same color of the uniform I wore when I was a kid. For me, that’s kind of funny.”
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