American teenage soccer star Freddy Adu has reached an
agreement to play for Portuguese club Benfica, pending the results
of a medical test. "It's a done deal," a club official said
Tuesday, ahead of an official announcement. The official said
details of the agreement, including the length of the contract,
would be announced at a later date but could not say
when.
Adu joined the rest of the Benfica squad at a training session
Tuesday, a day after arriving in the Portuguese capital to
negotiate personal terms, and was undergoing medical checks, the
official said. There were no immediate plans to introduce the
player to the media.
The American wonderkid had a trial at Manchester United. Spurs and
Chelsea were both believed to be interested, but Adu chose Portugal
to futher his career. Major League Soccer and Benfica agreed last
week to a £1.2 million ($2 million) transfer fee for the
18-year-old attacking midfielder, who was captain of the U.S. team
at this month's under-20 World Cup in Canada.
Adu has been one of the highest-profile stars of MLS since he
signed with D.C. United in November 2003 at age 14, becoming the
youngest player in the league's history. Real Salt Lake acquired
Adu from D.C. United last year knowing that when he turned 18 last
month he would become eligible under FIFA rules to move to a
foreign club.
Benfica has traditionally been one of Europe's stronger clubs, but
has been unable to match the spending of teams in wealthier leagues
such as England, Italy and Spain. Benfica finished third in the
Portuguese league last season behind Porto and Sporting
Lisbon.
Benfica will start play in the European Champions League in the
third qualifying round on Aug. 14 or 15.