Michael Bradley to Benfica?

Please I hope he goes abroad. Even for a loan. FFS, he needs to play SOOOO much better!!!!!

 

i miss the times when he's raise his game against better opponents.

if AC are calling, he better answer.

 

He seemed to always be "underrated". But now I think it's shifted to him being "overrated", especially by JK...

 

i wish we had 2013 Bradley back. He was worthy of playing for a big team in Italy in the CL. (maybe not as a 100% starter)

 

Ehhhh he was ok for Roma, so yea def a bench option and of course would have gotten minutes with strootmans injury after he got sold...but hindsight is 20/20 eh?

P.S. Not canadian.

 

Michael Bradley doesn't shut down Europe rumors but is focusing on playoffs
""""Bradley said World Cup qualifying and the the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs are his main focus, despite a Sports Illustrated report earlier this week linking him to Serie A clubs AC Milan and Bologna.

At the same time, he stopped short of pledging his long-term future to the Reds, who will be viewed as one of this year’s MLS Cup favorites.

“That’s football — there’s always things flying around,” Bradley said of the report. “November is obviously on everybody’s mind. And then there will be time as always at the end of the season to figure out to sit down and talk — what went well, what didn’t — and find the right way forward.”"""

 

I'll wait for a real source before I get too worked up about this, but this would be a terrible move for Bradley. He'd be walking away from a huge salary (it would get cut at least in half), and into a team that he no longer has the ability to play for. He was below average in MLS last year, and would get absolutely embarrassed in the Premier League, if he could even make it onto the field.

 

Wow!! That's funny, they called me too!!

 

I don't agree.

I had this argument before on here, so I won't re-hash it too much. WhoScored ratings put him 45th of 75 guys who played at least 10 games combined at CM and CDM (24th of 31 if you increase the min. game threshold to 20). He was the midfield anchor of a Toronto side that didn't beat a good opponent until the last game of the season. Maybe he was good compared to his teammates, but to the rest of the league? I'm skeptical.

I'll admit that I might be a little harsh. Toronto was collectively so bad last year that it's probably premature to write off any individuals on the team. Bradley, though, seemed to get significantly worse in the areas of the game that have been increasingly problematic in recent years. 2018 felt like the beginning of a steep decline rather than a blip.

 

All I can say is that a bad team never makes anyone look good. The arrow of success is always downward for pretty much everyone (except possibly keepers) if the players can't depend on their teammates .

 

whatever the case - it would clarify matters quite a bit if MB left MLS.

Wouldn't be able to hide behind "DP" status elsewhere -it'd be sink or swim - and even his strongest supporters wouldn't have much to say if he moved abroad and flopped. Plus, it couldn't hurt his form to have to really fight for his spot on a team and not have it handed to him like in MLS/USMNT.

 

I think he would hurt the rep of Americans there by going over now. Hopefully it doesn't come to fruition.

If this has legs it would reinforce how big of a difference being an American being a regular national teamer makes, especially in England.

I'd much rather see Jozy get yet another shot in top tier Europe, just not England, maybe Germany or France. At least he still has the wheels.

 

You should have stayed at Roma and fought for PT or moved to another Serie A club.

We thought you were The Prince That Was Promised, Bradley.

 

I've always held the opposite opinion. Altidore returning to Europe again is a recipe for disaster. Even though his stay at AZ was a clear success, all other trips in his European journey were disappointments. If I were Altidore, I would stay in North America. As long as he can stay healthy in 2019 and score goals, that will be enough for him to stay in the US picture, and Altidore is still young enough to get another big contract in MLS, because the league pays goalscorers. If Altidore wants to expand his horizons, he should consider Mexico - and there have been a few Altidore to Mexico rumors in the last year.

At age 32, Bradley will probably need to take a pay cut in MLS. Even if Bradley and Toronto are in perfect form in 2019, there are absolutely no guarantees for Bradley with the US if Adams, McKennie, and company continue to develop. Additionally, Bradley is the opposite of Altidore - only 1 club disappointment in Europe - and with his language skills and successful club history, he could probably latch on somewhere even if he's only MB60.

 

Jozy's mistake was going to the same country twice, and bottom feeding clubs. So when the chances to score dried up the pressure increased for when he did receive them, resulting in misses, or deference. The first time in England I actually thought he played pretty well in a Heskey-esque way. Second go round he went into the tank completely because he had higher expectations than when he was 19.

I think it was all psychological, just like it was when he collapsed at T&T. It's not like he wasn't good enough for that level. He has the strength, athleticism, ball striking, and craft. He's really not missing anything inherent to not succeed. He needs to thrust himself into a different environment, and hopefully he doesn't choke this time. Landon struggled multiple times in Germany and then succeeded in England. Maybe Jozy could do the reverse.

As for Bradley, I never claimed he shouldn't try if given the opportunity. Just like when it comes with the national team, he shouldn't be given the opportunity. And I don't want it to happen in either case because it's bad for the outcome of American football at least to some small degree. Some are still of the belief he's not half the man he used to be. Should have taken time with his wounded leg because they like to heal.

 

Really?

 

He was also unimpressive in Spain and Turkey

 

It's funny when you look at his Euro tallies and see 39 in the Netherlands and 1 each for four other clubs. I still can't believe blind luck didn't get him one or two more at Sunderland.

 

He'd be a fool to leave MLS at this point.

Nowhere he's going to get that much money. Even with Roma he was only getting 1/7th (= $1 million) of what DDR made.

 

Italy reports net salary. Bradley was reported at around 1 million euros a season. If the exchange rate meant that Bradley was making about $1.3 million, then that probably put his annual salary in the $2.5 to $3.0 million range in gross terms.

 

Yes, with all the discounts it was about a million euros. But he's making $6.5m in MLS. Even after all the discounts, that has to be at least three times what he was making in Europe at the peak of his career.

No one is going to pay him right away what he was making in Roma going from MLS, not now that he's old.

 

He was also loaned to Xerex where he never got into a single game.