Lafc "obsessed" With Signing Ronaldo, Rooney In 2018

NYCFCFan10

Registered
Mar 23, 2014
2,476
2,408
243
The Los Angeles football franchise, set to come into existence in 2018, already has big ambitions, with reports suggesting the club are keen on makingCristiano Ronaldo their first ever registered player and they want to pair him with former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney.

That’s according to Ed Malyon of theDaily Mirror, who cited a source revealing the grand plans for the California outfit: “There seems to be an obsession in LA with landing Ronaldo. The league will be even stronger by then. He'd be a franchise player for them and truly announce their arrival, and they think they can sell him the 'American Dream’.”

Malyon also noted that Rooney is another target and, given the England skipper holidays in Los Angeles most years, team officials are hopeful of luring the player to Major League soccer.

As noted recently by Kartik Krishnaiyer ofWorld Soccer Talk, there’s no denying that the United States’ top flight is on the rise:

The lure of the division has attracted figures such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Giovani dos Santos this summer, after all, while Kaka and David Villa are also thriving in their debut campaigns in MLS. But getting someone like Ronaldo would be a hallmark addition of the division.

The Los Blancos star remains one of the very best players in the world after all, and although he’ll be 33 by the time the summer of 2018 comes around, the shape the Portuguese star keeps himself in means it’s unlikely that his levels of performance will have deteriorated too much by the time LAFC begins its tenure.

Rooney may be a little different, as, unlike Ronaldo, the England man seems as though he is a little past his best. There has been some talk about the England skipper maybe dropping into midfield as his legs start to go, but the lifestyle and lucrative benefits of a move to Los Angeles may appeal to the former Everton man.
 
I can sort of see Ronaldo making an MLS move that soon, but I doubt Rooney will be tempted away from the EPL after only three more seasons. Especially if Van Gaal succeeds in getting Man U another EPL title or pushing them deeply into the Champions League.

Then again, if MLS backs a dump truck full of Garberbucks up to Rooney's house...
 
I can see every MLS team being obsessed with signing Ronaldo if he's coming to America. That being said, Ronaldo versus the Galaxy would be great TV. But then we have to get Messi, it's only fair.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NYCFCFan10
Will that improve our current retirement league status? No, in fact this will only increase the perception that MLS is a retirement home for former world's best players who want to make a few quick bucks.
 
Don't know if Ronaldo would come that soon. He's an athletic freak and I could see him playing at a high level well into his 30's.

Rooney I could maybe see it. I just don't see him aging well. I think I remember Fergie saying something similar in his book.
 
The article quotes some reporters tweet saying which league on Earth has more marketable stars than MLS?

Now they maybe old stars but their names still bring eyeballs from all over the planet. I think the league could develop a reputation of being the league for the best players on Earth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TabascoDiva
He's probably on the Chicago Fire discovery list. Like Drogba.
Pretty sure we could scrape together the $50k to get past that hurdle. Messi will sign with whomever he wants. The league will make sure of that. Thankfully.
 
I'd like to believe that with Messi being familiar with Ferran and Txiki, if he decides to move to MLS we're his first choice. Messi in time for our stadium opening?
Would City sign Messi at any age and not have him go to Manchester first though?
 
Would City sign Messi at any age and not have him go to Manchester first though?

Hopefully Messi or any other big DP signing would have the balls to stand up and say I'm not playing a day for Man City when they sign for CFG and come straight to NYC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BxLio91
To be honest, I believe he will be in a top European club until he decides to retire no matter how shit he is, only because of how many jerseys he'd sell.
 
Will that improve our current retirement league status? No, in fact this will only increase the perception that MLS is a retirement home for former world's best players who want to make a few quick bucks.
MLS as a retirement league has to take a backseat to the fact that the world's best will only want to play in big (or sexy) markets like LA, NYC or Miami.

Good luck trying to sell Cristiano on playing in the central or mountain time zone . . .
 
To be honest, I believe he will be in a top European club until he decides to retire no matter how shit he is, only because of how many jerseys he'd sell.

If he comes to MLS I think he will sell more jerseys (depending on the team). Everyone (under the age of 16) bought a Beckham LA Galaxy jersey when he first arrived. At least I did. And I didn't even follow MLS.
 
If he comes to MLS I think he will sell more jerseys (depending on the team). Everyone (under the age of 16) bought a Beckham LA Galaxy jersey when he first arrived. At least I did. And I didn't even follow MLS.
But the majority of kids under 16 don't follow soccer.