At Last! New York Red Bulls Sign Kaku

Bienvenidos Kaku!

Alejandro Romero Gamarra, or Kaku, was officially signed by the Red Bulls today as a Young Designated Player. He will be the first Young Designated Player in club history and will occupy an international spot on the roster. The Red Bulls sent $50,000 to Atlanta United in exchange for the discovery rights to Kaku.

 Wildest Transfer Saga of the MLS Off-Season

The curious case of Kaku Gamarra’s transfer enthralled and just straight-up frustrated the Red Bulls faithful for the past two months. The transfer saga has been a roller coaster ride from the jump, and today marks the end of that ride.

Alejandro Romero Gamarra, 23, grew up in Fuerte Apache, Buenos Aires one of the most notorious barrios in all of Argentina. Kaku dealt with a lot of adversity as a youth, bouncing from club to club before impressing at Huracan’s academy at 18. In 95 appearances at Huracan, Kaku scored eight times while assisting on 13 goals.

While the numbers aren’t exactly staggering, the left-winger’s play has garnered him heavy praise as one of Argentina’s top prospects. Kaku’s play drew him plenty of attention from foreign clubs, but nobody saw his transfer from Huracan being this difficult.

Kaku Transfer Timeline

December 21st: Kaku’s transfer to New York from CA Huracan was originally by TyC Sports. The transfer fee was reported was $6.25 million with 20% of his future sale going to Huracan. Little did everyone know this was just the beginning of the process, rather than the end. Reports out of Argentina for the next month and a half had the transfer “blocked” and “unblocked”, on multiple occasions.

Sometime before the transfer, Kaku cut ties with his agent, Marcelo Simonian. This was seemingly unknown by both clubs and a deal was apparently reached. Marcelo Simonian, Kaku’s ex-agent, felt as though he deserved a commission from the transfer. Simonian threatened legal action if he was not paid off, which put the whole transfer in jeopardy.

January 3rd: Kaku and Huracan’s president were very vocal about their frustrations over Simonian’s interference, while the Red Bulls never released a statement. Below is a letter from Kaku to his former agent, pleading for “his right to work”:

Mid-January: Reports out of Argentina claimed that the ball was in MLS’ court to whether they wanted to proceed forward with the transfer. Conflicting reports out of Argentina claimed MLS believed Simonian did not have a case to take to court, but it turns out they weren’t entirely sure.

January 23rd: TyC Sports reported Marcelo Simonian received $700,000 to abandon his lawsuit and let the transfer go through.

January 30th: Just when everyone thought the nightmare of #KakuWatch was over, once again the transfer was blocked. Kaku’s new lawyers and their commission became an issue, but they ultimately decided to give up their commission to get the deal done.

February 1st: Kaku confirmed he would take a flight to the States. With no official statement from New York, fans still found awaya waywelcome in Kaku at JFK.

https://twitter.com/FutbolistasAXEM/status/959649550154784769

February 16th:

It finally comes to an end!

Eventually, we will figure out what exactly happened in the 58 days that transpired in the wild ride that was #KakuWatch, but this is the information that’s currently available. From the Red Bulls website, he stated,

"“It’s a dream of every kid to come to a big team like the Red Bulls. It is a dream come true,” Kaku said, choking back tears. “The truth is that I am really happy, my family is also really happy, since we’ve always fought for it, and hopefully I will now be able to buy the house that I always wanted, keep having fun and celebrate — because that is what my mom always told me.”"

Next: Red Bulls Sign German CAM Rzatkowski

Finally, the great #KakuWatch comes to a close.