Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney one day might reunite on a field in Los Angeles.
The L.A.-based MLS expansion team is “obsessed” with signing Cristiano Ronaldo as its first designated player, The Mirror’s Ed Malyon reported, citing a source close to the fledgling organization.
“MirrorSport can reveal that plans are already afoot within the nascent organisation to make Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo their first designated player,” Malyon reported. “He is understood by senior figures at LAFC … to be open to a move Stateside when he winds down his career in Europe.
Maylon then quoted his source, who claims L.A. FC is hell-bent on becoming Ronaldo’s destination should he decide to leave Real Madrid when his contract expires in 2018. Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl reported in March that Ronaldo wants to play in MLS after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“There seems to be an obsession in L.A. with landing Ronaldo,” the source told MirrorFootball. “‘The league will be even stronger by then. He’d be a franchise player for them and truly announce their arrival, and they think they can sell him the ‘American Dream.’ ”
Los Angeles FC (the name under which the team works until it unveils its brand), which will begin play in 2018, also hopes to pair Ronaldo with former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney, but Maylon reports the club has not yet contacted him to gauge his interest in playing for the MLS club.
The rumor certainly will generate excitement among U.S. soccer transfer junkies for the next few years.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@br_uk
