LEEDS, England (AP) – Leeds marked his return to the Premier League by hiring Valencia striker Rodrigo Rodrigo, breaking the club’s record for moves after 20 years.
The 29-year-old Spanish international, who scored 10 goals in 38 games for the club and country last season, is said to have Leeds in about 30 million pounds ($40 million).
The payment of the move overshadows the 18 million pounds that Leeds spent on defenseman Rio Ferdinand in 2000, an era of large expenses that contributed to the club’s monetary implosion and his decline in the Premier League in 2004.
Leeds was promoted to the Premier League last month when league winners Marcelo Bielsa and Marcelo Bielsa opened against Premier League champions Liverpool on 12 September.
“I’ll paint with one of the most productive coaches in football,” Rodrigo said. “He’s done some things in other clubs and I’m very happy to hear it.”
Rodrigo played for Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid in his youth before signing for Benfica. He scored 27 goals in 67 games and was a losing Europa League finalist in 2013 and 2014 for the Portuguese club before joining Valencia.
In six seasons with Valencia, he scored goals in 220 appearances and won the Copa del Rey in 2019.
Rodrigo has reveled in English football, spent the 2010–11 season on loan at Bolton, made 21 appearances and scored once.
Born in Brazil, Rodrigo played 22 for Spain, scoring 8 goals.
___
More AP Football: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports