Christian Pulisic has broken another United States soccer record, this time with a mere stroke of a pen.
The Borussia Dortmund and U.S. national team winger transferred to Chelsea FC on Wednesday, the clubs announced on their respective websites. Chelsea agreed to pay Dortmund 64 million euros (£57.6 million/$72.7 million) to acquire Pulisic, who will spend the rest of the 2018-19 season on loan with his former team before joining the Premier League club next summer. Pulisic’s fee dwarfs the €20 million (£18 million/$22.4 million) Wolfsburg paid Hertha Berlin in 2017 for John Brooks, who held the record as the most expensive American soccer player in history.
Pulisic debuted with Dortmund’s first team in 2016 at age 17 and quickly emerged as one of the soccer world’s brightest young talents. He has played 115 games for Dortmund in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and adding 24 assists. He also has scored nine goals in 23 games for the U.S. senior national team.
Given his demonstrable talent and his age (he won’t turn 21 until September), many predict Pulisic will become U.S. men’s soccer’s greatest-ever player. In order to do so, he’ll have to thrive under the intense spotlights that are Chelsea and the Premier League.
“… It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world-class players,” Pulisic told Chelsea’s website.
Soccer fans in the U.S. should have no problem following Pulisic’s progress on a day-to-day basis once he moves to Stamford Bridge.
