The Colorado Rapids are once again being closely linked to a Mexican forward – but this time it’s not Carlos Vela.
El Tri forward Alan Pulido, who currently plays with Olympiakos in the Greek Super League, has addressed the reports linking him to the Rapids, telling Univision via telephone that he “does not rule out playing in MLS with the Colorado Rapids” amid speculation over his future.
Pulido, 24, was reported to be a target of the Rapids as early as last week:
That would seem to corroborate this, from a reporter for Mexican daily Récord, that Pulido has alright talked to the Rapids and is waiting on a final offer:
Pulido noted that he has three years left on his contract with Olympiakos, but also admitted that he has a desire to be playing regularly – a desire that has so far yet to be met during his time in Greece.
The Mexico international, who was part of El Tri squads for the 2011 Copa América and the 2014 World Cup, began his career with Liga MX’s Tigres UANL, where he made more than 100 appearances. However, he left the club under the cloud of a contract dispute that kept him off the field for the entirety of the second half of 2014 before he finally signed in Greece with Levadiakos in Jan. 2015. He moved to Olympiakos in the summer of 2015 but has seen only 19 minutes of playing time – all in cup play – and has rarely made the bench for the 42-time Greek champions.
Pulido's contract status does remain up in the air, even after he was cleared to play in Greece a year ago. Chivas Guadalajara claim to have bought 50 percent of his rights in the summer 2015 Liga MX Draft, and with the Court for Arbitration of Sport having ruled in Tigres' favor in their contract dispute, his immediate future remains unclear.
The New York Red Bulls were also linked to Pulido in December.
UPDATE: Per Marco Cummings, sources within the Rapids organization confirmed to MLSsoccer.com on Monday evening that the team is “very interested” in Pulido and that Paul Bravo had booked a trip to Greece for negotiations, but “paperwork” was slowing the signing process.
