Galaxy News Bits

- From AS.com, Real Madrid will be traveling to the United States in late June. President Ramon Calderon has confirmed that the Galacticos will face the Los Angeles Galaxy in a friendly where David Beckham will play the first half with Real Madrid and then switch jerseys at halftime and finish the game with the Galaxy. Pretty cool idea if it's true. Additionally, Real Madrid will also play a match in Washington and another in either Chicago or Salt Lake City during their 10-day visit.

- A few weeks ago, it was reported that Citibank had offered $49 million over five years to become the jersey sponsor for the Los Angeles Galaxy. According to Steven Goff of the Washington Post, the deal will not be happening. No reason was cited for the sudden end to negotiations, but Goff speculates that it may have something to do with banking rival Chase being a league sponsor. Herbalife has also been mentioned as a possible front-of-the-jersey sponsor.

- The Galaxy have launched a Spanish-language site. It can be found here.

Fred In D.C. By Tonight

According to Steven Goff of the Washington Post, A-League star Fred will meet his (future) D.C. United teammates tonight before their CONCACAF game against Chivas. "A DCU rep has met him in Latin America and will accompany him to Washington," Goff says.

It may not be a smooth transition, however. Fred is still under contract with the A-League until June 30, but his deal with his (former) club Melbourne ends this month. From Goff, resident D.C. United expert, "It is a common practice internationally for clubs to terminate the last few months of a contract with a departing player... Melbourne apparently is not willing to do this, perhaps thinking they can claim a transfer fee."

D.C. United will almost certainly not send Melbourne any cash for Fred, and, thus, may have to wait until July 1st to add him to the roster. They could also attempt to have the June 30 date invalidated and hope to add Fred on April 1st. Both sides are working on a resolution to the dispute as we speak.

Freddy Out, Fred In

According to everyone's favorite Washington Post sportswriter Steven Goff, the deal is done: Fred will be in a D.C. United uniform this season. The team is waiting for Fred to get international clearance and a work visa before they officially announce the signing, but it could be announced next week, a source close to the negotiations said.

Fred's deal will be for four seasons and he will reportedly earn $150,000 in 2007. United plan to play him as a right-side attacking player. Fred helped the A-League's Melbourne Victory claim the Australian championship last month.

United surprisingly shipped away one of the league's stars in Freddy Adu, but with the lineup they are assembling, people in D.C. will be saying, "Freddy A-Who?"

My take: D.C. United clearly has the global scouting thing down and has come up big this off-season. Without using their DP, they have secured two international playmakers - Fred and Luciano Emilio. Everyone else will be playing catch-up in the Eastern Conference to these guys this season. Good signing for D.C., good signing for MLS.

D.C. United Chasing Fred

According to Steven Goff of the Washington Post, D.C. United are quietly chasing after Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, better known as Fred. A Brazilian, Fred currently plays for current champion Melbourne Victory of Australia's A-League. He's 27 and usually plays attacking midfielder or striker. Fred tallied four goals and nine assists in 20 appearances in the 2006-07 season for Melbourne. In the '07 A-League Grand Final, he recorded four assists in Melbourne's 6-0 victory over Adelaide United.

Could he be another steal like Luciano Emilio appears to be? The rest of the league is definitely going to have to step it up in terms of worldwide scouting, as D.C. United is far beyond any other MLS team in that respect.