FREE AGENT BABY.
These are maybe not the words you should be tweeting if you have just helped your new franchise to a very successful season and have therefore amassed a bit of good will from the fanbase. That is exactly what Jermaine Jones did following Colorado's 1-0 loss against Seattle Sunday, likely his last game with the Rapids.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic frequently plays at being a conquerer, emperor and god while discussing his career. He’s discussed how his favorite movie is Gladiator, because he feels that, like Maximus Decimus Meridius, he will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.
“That’s how I felt, or wanted to feel,” said Ibrahimovic in his book, I Am Zlatan. “I wanted to stand up to the whole world and show everybody who’d doubted me who I really was, and I couldn’t imagine anyone who’d be able to stop me.”
Believe it or not, this time it doesn’t seem to be a joke: Ronaldinho might be headed to the Major League Soccer.
Rumors have been flying around ever since the legendary midfielder became a free agent, but until now that was all they were: rumors.
The first bit of solid news on Ronaldinho’s future came in curious fashion, as Brazilian journalist Andre Hernan tweeted that the 2005 Balon d’Or winner wouldn’t be joining Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
Steven Gerrard, 36, made it clear at the beginning of 2016 that it would likely be his last year as a player. That statement is now on the verge of coming true.
His contract with the Galaxy is up, and he’s announced that his MLS career is over. Gerrard, the former captain of Liverpool, has always been a larger than life figure. He could always be counted on to deliver at clutch moments, but he’s also been hindered by a sporting egotism that often left supporters feeling let down.
Sebastian "El Loco" Abreu's career has been a long, winding, magical journey.
The 40-year-old former Uruguay international has been transferred a record 28 times (23 different clubs in nine different countries) in his 22-year career.
Here is Abreu's entire transfer history, including loans:
When we last checked in with Steven Gerrard, he was a mediocre-but-not-great MLS player, which is to say there was no way in hell the LA Galaxy were going to pay him gobs of money to stick around for another season. Whether the decision was mutual or on Stevie's side or the Galaxy's, Gerrard will be elsewhere after his contract ends in December.
After 13 years as a Chelsea stalwart of the midfield, Frank Lampard has completed his playing career with a wild two year MLS run. There are definitely elements of the move that can easily be pointed out to conclude it’s failure. However, Lampard may have actually achieved exactly what the City Football Group were hoping for.
At the end of 2013-14 season Chelsea announced that Frank would be one of the players released. For his part, and focused on the 2014 World Cup, he claimed it would be decided later that summer.
Having scored more goals (126) at 23 than Cristiano Ronaldo (110), Luis Suarez (107) or Wayne Rooney (100), Romelu Lukaku has established himself as the world’s most complete young striker.
What’s your opinion on Bob Bradley? Was he hired at Swansea City only as a beneficiary of American ownership? Is he talented but doomed to oversee the relegation of a Premier League side that thinks continuously selling its top talent equals stability?
Stop thinking. I’ll tell you what to think of him: he’s a genius. He’s a genius because Bradley, according to the BBC, is targeting 35-year-old existentialist Dimitar Berbatov.
Loaning players is a practice as common in soccer today as Jose Mourinho blaming the refs for losing a game.
Powerhouses all over the world make use of this practice to give their young players a chance to play regular soccer somewhere else if they currently don’t have space on the first team. Sometimes, even established players are sent out on loan for various reasons.
Regardless of why they are away, here are a few players who have been making the most of their opportunities to play regular soccer.
Joe Hart | Torino