Per Greg Seltzer, U-17 forward Rubio Rubin will sign a long term contract with FC Utrecht when he turns 18 next spring.
Which would be also be pretty good pay for Rubio and shows how much Utrecht likes him. Non-EU players in the Eredivisie under 21 y/o with a pro contract get a guarantee of around $300K per year, and moves up to around $600K when they turn 21.
https://twitter.com/RubioRubinhttp://www.portlandtimbers.com/site.../image_nodes/2012/11/1jMsc5.AuSt_.69.1_0.jpeg
Holy shiza! Dont follow the "Utes" (My Cousin Vinny reference) that much but is he that well thought of as a prospect? Seems an awful lot of money to pay a kid whose never come close to playing a professional match.
The last Yank to suit up for Utrecht ---- the one and only John O'Brien. I don't know much about Utrecht's development of young players other than they groomed Dirk Kuyt. I certainly can think of lesser places to land and learning the Dutch style is never a bad thing. Kudos to Rubio for stepping out the box and securing a move to Holland in the spring.
Recently they had Ricky van Wolfswinkel from age 20 to 22 and really helped his career grow. He then joined Sporting CP and just broke the Norwich City transfer record. Dries Mertens was also there for 2 years which spurred a move to PSV and now Napoli, and before Swansea, GK Michel Vorm was there for 6 years from age 21 to 27. I'm sure there are a ton of others but those are recent, relevant guys.
What kind of role will he be stepping in to? With that kind of money I'm sure they have high expectations, but just glancing at their soccerway page it looks like they have quite a few young attackers.
Called up for the U-18s for the Milk Cup, but listed as unattached, which he presumably will remain until his 18th birthday: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/u-18-m...h-javier-perez-names-roster-for-milk-cup.aspx
Utrecht lost to a team from Luxembourg last week in a Europa League qualifying series . . . that's all I got.
Rubin turns 18 on March 1. Does anyone know if he'll go straight off to Holland in a few weeks then? Or at this point will he go during the summer for Utrecht's pre-season?
he will probably go now to sign contract in person, get residency situated and train with team till summer. Thats usually how it works.
I think he can register with the club before the summer. He is unaffiliated, so he is coming in on a free transfer, thus making him eligible for the first team and youth teams before the summer.
Rubio has been doing the back-and-forth Junior Flores type thing for awhile. Whether he's immediately eligible to play for any Utrecht team once he signs just depends on Eredivisie rules.
He's been training occasionally with the second team. He'll head back to the US for a bit and sign a pro contract on July 1st.
Thanks! I could've sworn he spent some time training with the first-team in the past as well, but I could be completely wrong.
A new & long interview with Rubio talking about Utrecht, playing for the US, & his background Click here