I wonder if MLS got a decent transfer fee? MetroStars sell Diallo to Saudi Arabian club October 7, 2002 SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) -- The MetroStars sold forward Mamadou Diallo to Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli on Monday. Neither the MetroStars nor Major League Soccer announced terms of the deal. Diallo had 11 goals and four assists after joining the MetroStars on May 24 in a six-player deal with the New England Revolution. The 31-year-old finished second on the team in goals behind Rodrigo Faria, who had 12. ``Mamadou was a terrific player for us this year, and he helped provide us with some tremendous offensive power,'' MetroStars president Nick Sakiewicz said. ``But this was a deal that was certainly good for Mamadou as well as good for the MetroStars.'' The MetroStars missed the playoffs after losing their final three games this season. Diallo had 47 goals and 14 assists in 74 MLS games played with Tampa Bay, New England and the MetroStars. He was also a two-time All-Star.
well, last week they said it would be between 600,000 and 800,000. i suspect more the later than the former for some reason. if nothing else, the metros' locker room just improved.
This kind of sucks though because Diallo was one of the best in MLS. Maybe he has lost a step, so it is not a bad move, but man watching him in Tampa, I thought no one could stop him from scoring. He was truely a stud while he played there.
I think this is good for both parties. MLS gets what is relatively a large transfer fee (interms of MLS standards, and the current market) and Diallo gets to leave MLS. I know he said that he would like to stay in NY a while back, but it's been apparent for a year or so that he was interested in exploring options abroad, in either France or a country with a warm climate. Good luck to him, and thanks for the effort he put in for MLS. He may not have been the most sporting player on the field (may even be considered dirty), but no one ever questioned his level of effort.
Have a good time Big Mama. Don't have the link - but I read the fee was $500 K - this was from a NJ paper.
Perhaps the beginning of a trend??? http://www.soccer365.com/US_home/Features_Interviews/page_38_39761.shtml
Do you have some inside info on the Metros that no one else has, because he was not a problem in the locker room at all for us this year. Was he a problem in NE yes, but not the Metros.
No, he was more of a problem pouting and yelling at the coach on the sidelines... not the locker room.
Hmmm. The Saudis sent us 15 of the 19 terrorists. New York returns the favor by sending them Mamadou.
I think most Metro fans will be wishing to have Big Mama back when we see what Nick will replace him with I think the guy made a good impact on our team, but he could have scored more goals for us. I think the problem was that too often Mamadu found himself on the wing receiving a pass that he would then pass on to someone else in the box. His passes for the most part were off target. He is not the type of person to be making plays. He was the one that should have stayed in the box. He's supposed to be the last guy you pass the ball to so he can just shoot it into the back of the net. But plays never worked out that way and so he was never as effective as he could have been.
Ah, yes. That is correct. I was heavily caffeinated at the time. But at least I know his first name. It's Bob, right?
OK, so space the spelling on the surname, is OK, space the first name altogether, not OK. Got it. If caffeine is an excuse, can you revoke your claim that I have no credibility? I do drink a lot of Diet Coke. But thanks for singling it out of the entire article, anyway.
So you wrote that? I wasn't aware. And I was only off by one letter. You were nowhere near the name. But that's nitpicking. As for the rest of the content, I don't see the correlation between your article and what you posted in your link to it, "Perhaps the beginning of a trend???" There's no suggestion that any other MLS players will soon be leaving. I do agree that it's more beneficial for the league, in the long run, to keep the WC stars here, while acknowledging that some of them are able to play in leagues that are more competitive. The league has, for a while, attempted to be a halfway point between smaller nations and Europe. Mauricio Wright, Shaun Bartlett and Stern John and I think one or two others whose names escape me spent time here before going on to richer leagues, so your take on Vaca, Q2 and Ruiz is hardly news.
I didn't say it was "news" I was suggesting that MLS should look to these players as source of revenue, even as it keeps the American around as possible. The names you mention don't exactly amount to a signal of clear policy by MLS re transfer policies.