COLUMBUS, Ohio – Andres Guardado confirmed 284602305" tabindex="0">on Friday that Atlanta United FC have expressed interest in his services.
But the Mexican midfield star said the 2017 MLS expansion team have yet to submit a formal offer to him or his current club, Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
Guardado addressed the rumors as he and his El Tri teammates strolled out the back gate of MAPFRE Stadium in possession of a long-awaited victory over the US national team, their first at the venue in five tries.
“Honestly, we haven’t had any concrete conversations,” he said in Spanish after Mexico's 2-1 World Cup qualifying win, when asked about the possibility of an MLS move. “It’s not a secret that Atlanta inquired about my situation, but any sort of formal offer, that never came.”
Multiple reports earlier this year claimed that Atlanta United are keenly interested in making Guardado one of their showcase stars as they enter MLS, with one outlet stating that a three-year deal worth $3 million a year was in the works.
In personal terms, 284602306" tabindex="0">Friday was a frustrating outing for the 30-year-old, as he suffered what appears to be a hamstring strain that will rule him out of Mexico's visit to Panama on Tuesday, and possibly several weeks of PSV action as well. But the veteran El Tri mainstay was just as thrilled as the rest of his teammates to break the hex that had bedeviled them in Columbus for so many years.
So might he return to MAPFRE as an MLS player sometime soon?
“I’ve always said, ever since the rumors started about Atlanta and all of that, that MLS is a league that’s growing, that obviously I can’t close the door on any particular league,” he said. “Right now obviously I’m at PSV, and honestly it’s like a second home to me, they’ve treated me so well since I arrived.
“In the life of a footballer, though, you never know what the future holds.”
