The MLS offseason looks destined to become a time of year for fans, full with the thought of “Hey, they managed to sign Beckham, right?” to dream big. And dreaming big is exactly what many are already doing. So who’ll be the big signing this summer, Andriy Shevchenko, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, maybe even Ronaldinho? Goal.com’s Pat Walsh brings expectations back to reality, dispelling a series of popular rumors floated in the press recently.
Re: Andriy Shevchenko. Unhappy though the Ukrainian must certainly be at Chelsea, the chances of his trading London for New York before his contract expires are slim. We’re talking about a man who cost Chelsea $60 million-plus. Unless Roman Abramovich simply doesn’t care about sound business management practices, Chelsea will not be letting Sheva out of his contract for cheap. The same goes for Henry, Ronaldo and other underachieving big name players bound by big-time contracts. Remember, nobody needed a transfer fee for Beckham’s signature; Walsh says the highest-profile signing of the offseason will more than likely be Juan Sebastian Veron to D.C. United.
More than likely we will see more players like Guillermo Barros Schelotto of Columbus and Fred of D.C. United, particularly as MLS expands to six more teams in the next few years. As for other rumors: Jose Mourinho will not be heading to the New York Red Bulls, Walsh says. Chicago’s Juan Carlos Osorio or Chivas USA’s Preki are the biggest names NY area fans can hope for.