The Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer are said to be desperate for a high-profile English player to enable them to compete with David Beckham’s LA Galaxy, and have reportedly identified Rio Ferdinand as their main target.
Ferdinand will be 33 next month and is out of contract at Manchester United at the end of next season (2013) and with the progress of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling it is unlikely that United would be interested in signing a then 34-year-old Ferdinand especially when he is on £120,000-a-week.
Chicago want the England defender to join them next summer and believe they can persuade him to turn his back on the Barclays Premier League to finish his career in the States. Because of lower tax rates in the U.S., the Fire believe they can meet Ferdinand’s current United wages.
Ferdinand is determined to make Fabio Capello’s squad for next summer’s Euro finals in Poland and Ukraine, but faces competition from Gary Cahill and clubmates Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. If he is not picked by Capello for the Euro’s that will be a clear sign that Rio’s international career is over and the prospects of moving to Major League Soccer will look a lot more attractive to him then, then what they probably do now.
What do you think? Can you see Rio Ferdinand in a Fire uniform next season?