Haaland grew up the son of a pro soccer player. Pepi grew up the son of a construction worker and cleaner. If he gets an offer with the kind of money that gets his entire family set for generations to come, he take do it.
One of the things that impresses me the most about Pepi is his apparent level of maturity. You can see in in all of his interviews starting (for me) with the first one after the MLS all star game.
He will get many many offers for big money. That's a given. Choosing the right one will be the issue.
I'm not talking about picking Manchester City over Ajax. I'm talking about not choosing another year in Dallas over a new contract in Europe.
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I get that the partnerships are different. ..............but Bayern has "right of first refusal" on FCD young players. If Bayern Munich wants Ricardo Pepi, Bayern Munich will get Ricardo Pepi. Even if they're not sure he's good enough for their first team, they'll see it as an investment. They bought Chris Richards for 1 million (plus incentives) and reportedly turned down 20 million from a Premier League club this window. I get that FCD would keep a portion of it. Either way, that's just strong business right there. Bayern sees paying FCD for these players as investment in the next crop. 20 million (plus incentives) for Che and Pepi in January.
But that’s only the case if Ricardo Pepi himself wants to go to Bayern. Che clearly does and so did Richards. Pepi may or may not given the presence of Lewandowski. Bayern is going to have to sell him on an plan/path to playing time (like having a loan set up once he gets there).
It's kind of wild to think how 2.5 years ago, he and Ocampo-Chavez were neck and neck. Most were slightly favoring Pepi at the time, but not all, it was kind of hard to tell off reports...now, night and day. Ocampo-Chavez is still only 19, so maybe he can find his footing too, but my God has Pepi just grown by leaps and bounds since I was listening to those scuffed podcast's previewing U17 World Cup qualifying in the spring of '19.
FC Dallas.............................. I will say this. RIcardo Pepi dominated with NTSC to the point that there was no use playing him in the USL. This was two seasons ago. 9 goals in 13 games as a 16 year old, and they'd seen enough. Ocampo-Chavez played 44 games for Tacoma and had 9 goals. I know that's a different level of the USL, but you get what I'm saying. AOC didn't light the world on fire in the USL. So he didn't force Seattle to play him with the first team. Josh Atencio is getting regular playing time now with Seattle, so its not about the club. Its about the player earning the advancement. People ask me if there's something special in the water at FCD? No, there isn't. I don't even think the coaching is all that special. The facilities are top notch, and some of the best in the nation for youth players. But FCD isnt' doing anything that the rest of the country can't do. RIcardo Pepi isnt' from their homegrown territory. He was free for any club to recruit. What its about is opportunity. People whined and complained last year when Jara was playing. But Pepi, as a raw 17 year old, was still seeing lots of time. He's really grown and improved with the opportunity. And then earlier this year he won the job.
That's a big chunk of what's special about Croatia... in footballing terms, and in a lot of other areas. They lack a lot of resources that other places have, but talents get a lot of opportunities at high-ish levels very quickly, and those opportunities lead to growth and confidence, which builds into careers.
Texas boy doing big things for the 🇺🇸 in his home state. 🤠@Ricardo_Pepi9 making us all proud. pic.twitter.com/D1Xm3MdoQS— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) October 8, 2021
What would the final scoreline have been if we didn't have to rest Pepi for the next two games? Pretty sure Gregg's boy Zardes had around four blown chances (in what was otherwise a very good game for him!)... I think Pepi at least scores on that Weah cross that Zardes whiffed on. I would say maybe 2-0 --> 4-0. Gregg Berhalter does not slow the hype around Ricardo Pepi:"We're all excited. We're just sitting there and we're on the train... It's amazing." #USMNT— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) October 8, 2021 I'm hearing, including from Gregg who finally boarded when his job was in jeopardy, that there's some sort of "Pepi Train"... just want to claim my seat. Ricardo Pepi?— Dr. Bhaskar Ⓥ (((Parody))) (@xbhaskarx) December 18, 2020 Best 11 Right Now thread, July 25: MLS thread, August 18: So after being involved in all 6 goals in his first two games for the USMNT (3 goals 2 assists), is Pepi considered "fully grown" yet? Pepi must have had a few birthdays in the last few months... how old is he now, 27?
Interestingly when interviewed on ESPN yesterday, Klinsmann of all people indicated that he thinks Pepi should stay in MLS. Pretty surprising from the guy whose mantra was always about guys going to Europe, but his rationale was in a World Cup year the most important thing is being in a place where you’re getting consistent playing time.
More Pepi rumors 🚨 Sources tell me Ricardo Pepi's camp are in agreement on personal terms with Wolfsburg 🇩🇪 & are looking to close a deal with #DTID 🇺🇲 #USMNT Haven't been able to reach his agent to confirm yet— Chris Smith (@Chris_SXI) October 12, 2021
Wolfsburg have talked about wanting to be active in the American market. They've brought in a bunch of players, most of whom haven't worked out for them. [Uly Llanez, Bryang Kayo, Michael Edwards, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, etc.] If they do bring Pepi in, expectations for him would be on another level. Just a word of caution. We saw lots of rumors like this during the Reynolds saga with a bunch of different clubs. So who knows.....................
More accolades for Pepi No. 1 // #22U22Everything is bigger in Texas. 🤠 @Ricardo_Pepi9 is the best player in MLS under 22! #DTID pic.twitter.com/HcCpjzmP4h— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 12, 2021
More Pepi rumors 🚨🇺🇸🚂 Sources tell CBS Sports that 🏴 Premier League clubs have started showing an interest in USMNT talent Ricardo Pepi.Hearing the expectation is it could take between 12-15 million dollars to land him.— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) October 15, 2021 Though I’d prefer his first spot in Europe not be the EPL. I do feel like if Norwich can afford $10 million for Sargent most teams can afford something in the $12-$15 million price range. I just pray it’s not a bottom of the table team (though I guess Newcastle would be ok given the spending spree they are about to go on).
He followed it up with this There has been no shortage of interest, obviously. One Premier League club, sources say, is planning to initiate contact with his representatives soon. Not at liberty to say the club, but it is one that could probably guarantee him minutes and isn't a relegation contender.— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) October 15, 2021
If I were Pepi, I'd go somewhere like Ajax, and not to the Bundesliga or Premiership. Too much too soon. Ajax is a finishing school that prepares you for the higher leagues. I think Wolfsburg would be a mistake. Bundesliga and EPL are too physical and won't afford him much time to learn. My 2 cents.
Yeah, I agree. At his age, EPL and Bundesliga might rattle him. I’d rather he go to a league like Belgium, Holland, France of Portugal.
I don't see how BL is wrong with the right team. Plenty of young players get chances and it's not too physical.