Jozy Altidore Signs with Villareal

No transfer terms were released but a person with knowledge of the deal said it was worth a minimum of just under $10 million, nearly double the amount previously paid for an American when English club Sunderland bought Claudio Reyna for $5.7 million in 2001. The person could not speak for attribution because league policy is to not disclose financial terms.  Reyna transferred to the Red Bulls last season. The previous record paid for an MLS player was the $4 million Fulham paid for Clint Dempsey after the 2006 MLS season.

MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said the transfer was negotiated relatively quickly, was a record amount for an American and that the league was under no "compulsion" to sell Altidore.  "This was a decision we and the Red Bulls took rationally, with the objective to achieve a couple of things: provide Jozy with an opportunity he's been looking for, and more importantly from our point of view, give us resources to elevate the team and the league," Gazidis said.  "It's an offer we wouldn't be accepting unless we believed the money gave us the opportunity to make the Red Bulls and MLS better. Our only motivation is that we received such value that it can let us make a step forward."

MLS is a single entity league in which the league owns all the contracts and pays the players out of a central fund. Teams negotiate individual contracts with league oversight.  Red Bulls spokesman Andy McGowan said Altidore, whose contract with MLS was not due to expire until 2011, was unlikely to play in Thursday night's home game against Chivas USA because of an ankle injury, but would speak about the transfer just before the match.

"I think he was happy," Red Bulls sporting director Jeff Agoos said in describing Altidore's reaction to the transfer. "I think every young MLS player wants to go play for a team in Europe."

The 18 yr old Altidore already has made three appearances for the US national team and scored his first goal against Mexico in February. He was a key member of the American team that qualified for the Olympics in April and was expected to lead the team in Beijing.  He scored nine goals for the Red Bulls last year, his first full season in MLS, to finish eighth in the league in scoring. With his combination of speed, size and strength, he has been mentioned repeatedly as a possible transfer target since the end of last season, including Real Madrid.

Altidore leads the Red Bulls this season with three goals in eight games.  He made his US national team debut in November, entering as a substitute in a 1-0 victory over South Africa in Johannesburg. He added his first goal in a 2-2 tie against Mexico in Houston, becoming the youngest player to score a goal for the United States in the modern era.