Clint Dempsey says he wants to play in the Champions League before he retires and basically told any club wanting to sign him to put an offer on the table.
in an interview with Sports Illustrated, the best player the US has ever produced reiterated his desire to test himself against the game’s best.
“I am grateful for everything Fulham have done for me, some of the best memories I have in soccer have been there, but the fact remains that I want to play in Champions League. I want to play at the highest level possible,” Dempsey said.
“I want to do as much as I can in my career and look back and say I made the most of all the opportunities I have had. I am always going to want to play in Champions League.
“It is something I have never done. I would like to test myself at that level. That way I can look back and say, ‘Hey, I gave it a go. Either I was good enough or I wasn’t good enough’.
Speaking to FOX Soccer, Dempsey added:
“I don’t get caught up in that [speculation] because until somebody is putting down some money it doesn’t matter. If teams are really interested, they need to put their money with their mouth is and make an offer.”
Dempsey isn’t likely to play in the U.S. friendly with Scotland in Jacksonville on Saturday. A strained groin kept him out of Fulham’s Premier League finale, and he hadn’t done anything more than a bit of running and ball work in training through Thursday.
“I don’t know about the Scotland game,” he said. “We’re just trying to be smart. I’ve been out for 14 days. You’ve gotta work on fitness because you lose it really quick. It doesn’t make sense to play in a game if you’re not able to be close to 100 percent.”
Dempsey is coming off his best season as a professional scoring 23 goals in all competitions, with 17 of them coming in the Premier League.
At 29, Dempsey realizes that he probably has one has big contract. We actually discussed Dempsey leaving Fulham during the season on Cottage Talk. Part of Dempsey’s decision making progress has to be not only moving to a club where he can play every week, but also in a location where he can and his family feel comfortable.
Dempsey and his family live in London so moving to say Arsenal would not be a big adjustment. Moving to Serie A or La Liga is a much bigger move because now you have language, food and culture issues that you don’t have moving to another Premier League side.
Where do you think Dempsey will end up playing next season?
