Adu signing becomes official
NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) — Freddy Adu, the 14-year old soccer phenom, formally was introduced Wednesday as the newest signee of Major League Soccer.
Excluding individual sports, he will become the youngest professional athlete in this country in over 100 years when he takes the field next April.
Terms of Adu’s contract were not disclosed.
“This is one of the most monumental days in the history of soccer in the USA,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
Adu will be assigned to D.C. United, which completed a trade with the Dallas Burn to gain the first pick in the league’s SuperDraft. He reportedly becomes the highest-paid player in the league, with a yearly salary of approximately $250,000. All players are signed to the league as opposed to individual teams.
Adu, a naturalized American born in Ghana, has been compared to soccer legends Pele and Diego Maradona and arguably is the only player that might attract hard-core sports fans to an MLS match.
The league suffered a drop in attendance in 2003.