Brian McBride to Play in English Premier League - Saint Louis University

Jan. 20, 2004

Columbus, Ohio - (AP) Saint Louis University All-American and all-time leading scorer Brian McBride , one of the mainstays of Major League Soccer and the U.S. National Team, has signed a contract to join Fulham of the English Premier League, the Columbus Crew announced Tuesday.

"It's tough to leave but this is the right opportunity for us," McBride said at a news conference at Crew Stadium. "Now we'll take the challenge head on."

McBride, 31, the Crew's all-time leading scorer and a seven-time MLS All-Star, disclosed his plans at a news conference. He had been chased by several Premier League teams in recent weeks, with Fulham making a late bid to beat out Blackburn for his services.

The MLS will receive a transfer fee of more than $1 million for McBride's move and the Crew will receive a player allocation.

The move comes three days after the sale of top striker Louis Saha by Fulham to Manchester United on Friday for $19 million.

McBride will earn an estimated $1.5 million a year, a huge increase over the $341,250 he would have make this year from MLS.

"It's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride. The Crew has always supported me, but we decided this was the right thing for me to do, and this team supported me," McBride said.

The move takes McBride, who led the Crew last year in goals, to the sixth-ranked team in England, where he will join fellow national team member Carlos Bocanegra.

"This move takes one of our top players to one of the best leagues in the world. It is the right decision and we wish him nothing but the best," Crew coach Greg Andulis said. "He's had an unbelievable career in the U.S., and we're certain it's going to continue in clearly one of the finest leagues in the world."

A native of Arlington Heights, Ill, McBride starred at Saint Louis University. The Billikens retired his No. 20 in October 2003. He has played fro the Crew since he was acquired with the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS' inaugural draft in 1996.

The move to England will not be the first foreign foray for McBride. He played on loan for Everton of the EPL a year ago and has also seen action for Preston North End of the English First Division on loan in 2000 and 2001 and for Vfl Wolsburg of the German Second Division in 1994-95.

McBride played in 137 MLS matches over the course of his first seven seasons, scoring 142 points and 50 goals. He had 14 game-winning goals and assisted on 11 more game-winners. In 2002, McBride led Columbus to the Open Cup championship.

McBride is the only American to score in two separate World Cups. He started all five games at the 2002 World Cup, scoring game-winning goals against Portugal and Mexico. Upon returning from South Korea, the city of Columbus declared July 1, 2002, "Brian McBride day."