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MLS DC United traded Freddy Adu to Real Salt Lake

ADIEU TO ADU - D.C. deals Freddy to Real Salt Lake

In a stunning deal, D.C. United Monday traded midfielder Freddy Adu and the rights to goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake.

United received a major allocation, the rights to goalkeeper Jay Nolly and future considerations, including a share of any future replacement allocation money attributed to Adu, should he be transferred.

Adu joins Salt Lake after three sometimes tumultuous seasons in D.C..

Signed as a 14-year-old three years ago, Adu, now 17, sometimes clashed with coach Peter Nowak on his role and playing time with the MLS club.

?This was a difficult decision for all of us at D.C. United,? United president and CEO Kevin Payne said. ?Freddy has been a valued member of our team both on and off the field for three years. We appreciate that he wanted the opportunity to play a different role on the field than he would have been afforded here and he will apparently get that opportunity in Salt Lake. We wish him nothing but the best.?

Adu preferred to be an attacking midfielder, a role he is expected to assume as he is reunited with former U.S. Under-17 coach John Ellinger in Salt Lake.

?It is never easy to part with players, especially one like Freddy,? United coach Peter Nowak said. ?Freddy desired to play a different role than the one we offered here at D.C., so we hope this move can aid that wish. I believe Freddy greatly improved his play and knowledge of the game during his three years in D.C. and hope this move to Salt Lake further helps him as a player. We all wish him nothing but the best.?

Adu spent three years under Ellinger in the U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla. In 2002 as a 13-year-old, Adu finished second on the team in goals with 22. A year later, Adu helped the U-17?s qualify for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup with a goal and an assist in a pair of 3-0 wins over Jamaica and Guatemala. He opened the tournament with a hat trick in the team's 6-1 win over South Korea and scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute in a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone, vaulting the U.S. team into the quarterfinals, where the Americans eventually fell to champions Brazil.

?I am thrilled with what we have been able to accomplish today," Ellinger said. ?Freddy is an exceptional talent; players like him don?t come along very often. With all of the hype that surrounded him entering the league at such a young age, sometimes people fail to see what a proven player he has developed into.

"He is no longer a great player for a young kid, he is a great player, period. The value he brings to our organization is hard to accurately describe. Obviously, he makes us better on the field, but he also makes us more viable off the field. His arrival will benefit the entire organization, on every level possible. I am eager to get him out on the field with his teammates; I am anticipating big things.?

Adu was not immediately available for comment.