The confetti from Minnesota United’s MLS party has hardly been swept up, yet rumors of who will be their first Designated Player have begun. Univision reports that the Loons have joined Atlanta United and Chicago Fire in the pursuit to sign German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The 32 year-old midfielder recently announced that he would be leaving Manchester United and would not be signing for another European club. That he would land at one of the MLS expansion clubs for 2017 is completely reasonable, but Minnesota seems very unlikely to come to fruition.
Minnesota United issued a standard “no comment,” when asked about their pursuit of the German. More importantly, Manny Lagos and Bill McGuire have repeatedly indicated an aversion to big name (and big money) stars as designated players. (Though, the club had an agreement that fell through two seasons ago to bring Icelandic legend Eidur Gudjohnsen to the club). Instead, the team will likely be looking to developing stars from Latin and South America for designated players such as Portland Timbers’ Diego Valeri.
Schweinsteiger looks like a very improbable signing for the Loons, but the rumor offers fans a glimpse at the oncoming deluge of rampant speculation and rumors. Welcome to MLS, Minnesota.
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