The overseas reputation of Major League Soccer-developed talent is only increasing, a dynamic Jozy Altidore, an original trailblazer on that front, watches with admiration.
Altidore, back in 2008, departed the New York Red Bulls for a reported $10 million transfer to La Liga side Villareal. An outbound move of that variety was an outlier, an anomaly that bucked trends for young, up-and-coming players from the league.
But now seven- and eight-figure transfer fees are becoming commonplace with teenagers and young 20-somethings around MLS, with top-five leagues in Europe lining up for their services. And Altidore hopes the trend only continues.
“It’s tough, man. You go out there, 18, you don’t know nobody, the language. It’s hard,” Altidore told Extratime host Andrew Wiebe in an exclusive interview upon joining the New England Revolution. “But it’s going to make them stronger people and players for it. It’s only going to bring and raise the quality of our game, of our national team.
“So I’m just happy to see it and I want to see more and more guys keep challenging themselves to do that at those ages. It will also set you up for later in life too in a lot of ways. So you make that move, you go out there, pay your dues, it will set you up later on too. You’ll be able to climb the ladder and different things will happen for different players.
“Some will make it to Chelsea, some won’t. But that’s life, right? That’s what it is, but at the end of the day you’ve got to push yourself, you got to go chase it and see what happens.”
Altidore’s path zigged and zagged across Europe, with his most successful time coming at AZ Alkmaar in Holland’s Eredivisie. Spells in England at Hull City and Sunderland proved less fruitful, giving the 32-year-old perspective on the challenges of making it overseas.
But that doesn’t discourage Altidore from providing advice to those coming through MLS NEXT Pro, the SuperDraft and other pathways.
“Whoever asks me, I tell them to go for it,” said Altidore, who's scored 42 goals in 115 US men's national team caps. “MLS will be here, but these windows, these opportunities to go to those clubs, they won’t be here at the end of the day. They want you now when you’re young, they see potential in you. Go get it. Go after it, have no regrets and if you shoot for the stars, man, you’ll land somewhere in a good spot. It’s a big galaxy, a lot of possibilities.”
But in Altidore’s eyes, it’s not solely about creating the next Ricardo Pepi situation, with the USMNT striker heading to German Bundesliga side FC Augsburg from FC Dallas in early January for a reported club-record $20 million transfer deal.
It’s also about creating more opportunities for young talent to stay in MLS and be rewarded for their growth, like when FCD forward Jesus Ferreira inked a Young Designated Player deal this offseason. Pepi and Ferreira, now former club teammates, are both homegrown products.
“On the flip side of that, I want to see some of these young kids get paid in MLS that do decide to stay, they do decide to play in their home markets or boyhood clubs,” Altidore said. “I want to start seeing those guys get these million-dollar deals. I think that’s important because kids behind them will see and want to be like them. There should be multiple avenues. Just because you stay here at 19, 20 and get paid don’t mean you can’t go to Europe later too to a big club.”
For more from Altidore, check out his entire Extratime interview here.
