After six-plus seasons in the English Premier League, a stretch which saw him score 73 goals for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, the Texan has returned to Major League Soccer in his homeland, joining Seattle Sounders. Paul Oberjuerge looks at the move:
The deal
Seattle reportedly paid Tottenham a transfer fee of US$9 million (Dh33m), the biggest in MLS history, and will assume the final four years of his contract, worth up to $32m — which would make him the highest-salaried player in MLS annals.
England zenith
In his final season with Fulham, 2011/12, Dempsey scored 23 goals in all competitions and was fourth in the Football Writer’s Association voting for Premier League player of the year, behind Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.
Motives? On joining Tottenham, he said he wanted to play Uefa Champions League football, and may have despaired of Spurs doing so soon. Also, with Roberto Saldado joining, he may have been concerned of being in the first XI ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Seattle? The Sounders, who came into existence before the 2008 season, have not won the MLS Cup but they have won the US Open Cup three times and are the best-supported club in America's top football league, averaging more than 41,000 fans per home match.
Interest piqued The US national team played Panama in a World Cup qualifying match, in Seattle, in June, and Dempsey was impressed by the crowd and how fans behaved. He said: "I almost felt like I was in another country … It's an atmosphere that's comparable to what it is in Europe."
Warm welcome He was introduced in Seattle on Saturday and revealed a No 2 Sounders shirt. He said: "I look forward to getting on the field and playing in front of some of the best fans in the world. I think we'll accomplish some great things here."
