Freddy Adu on MLS - "I hope they don't do to Jozy (Altidore) what they did to me"

Freddy Adu opens up on his transfer to Benfica, his time in MLS and his own play in a new SI piece out today. Although there are a number of interesting questions in the piece, the part that I'm sure is going to attack the most attention is his take on MLS and their treatment of him.

When asked about how the league created the idea of Adu as savior of American soccer, he says:

I had to be the bad guy after a few years and say: "I'm not doing this appearance. I'm not flying here to sign autographs. I don't want to do it. I have to concentrate on my play. Do you want me to produce on the field or do you just care about what I'm doing off the field?"

And the league understood and was great enough to let me cut back, and from then on the focus has been on getting back to where I used to be. And right now, I can honestly tell you, I am exactly where I want to be.

He is then asked if he was jealous of the way New York's Jozy Altidore became the new young face this past year:

No jealousy at all. What goes through my mind is: "I hope they don't do to Jozy what they did to me" -- with all the hype and everything.

Always interesting to see what the person in the middle thinks of everything going on around him.

'Son of Pelé' signs with Benfica

Freddy Adu has made his way to Europe and it looks like the expectations have followed him across the Atlantic as a local sports daily greeted his arrival with the headline "Son of Pelé."

News headlines aside, as many people have pointed out, this might just be the best move Adu could have made as Benfica has a great history of developing younger players and is in a league that is driven more by technical skills then pure physicality. Also, Adu will not be the big fish in the league or on his team so he will be able to develop outside the spotlight.

Portugal might not be one of the big leagues of Europe, but they are still very good. With Benfica often making it into the Champions' League (or at least the UEFA Cup), Adu should have many opportunities to prove himself against some of the best in the world, which might just lead to more US National Team time. If that happens, he would be in a better position to qualify for the work visa required to play in some of those bigger leagues.

MLS received a $2 million transfer fee for Adu and a percentage of any future transfer. Somewhere I saw a report that put Freddy's salary at $600,000, but I cannot find confirmation of that anywhere.

Update: If you want to keep up with Adu and Benfica, check out this blog.

Is this the week Adu walks away from MLS?

The rumors are everywhere, Freddy Adu is about to sign with Benfica in Portugal if the club can agree to terms with MLS. Could it be that Adu has played his final MLS match and is ready to try his luck in Europe?

The timing of this move would be good for Adu and not that bad for the league. Freddy is coming off a strong U-20 World Cup where he earned much international praise while MLS is focused on Beckham, ie they have a bigger name to promote. Still, the league is asking for a $7.5 million transfer fee, which might be the hang up.

Is Adu worth that much? Based on his MLS work, probably not, especially when you look at Clint Dempsey, who had a much better track record, and see that he went for $4 million. Still, there is always that magic word that pops up whenever Adu is discuss, potential. Any club signing Adu is taking a risk, but he showed in Canada that when he is motivated, he can make things happen, but will he stay motivated enough to equal all the talk?

If he does move to Portugal, he will find himself a club rich with tradition and strong on talent meaning that the pressure on him to perform will be huge (maybe not as huge as carrying a whole league, but still a lot of pressure). MLS deserves to make some good money off an Adu transfer, but I hope that they do not let greed get in the way of Adu's future.