Former Brazil international and AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato has an offer from Orlando City, according to multiple reports.
Pato has been a free agent since he left Brazilian club Sao Paolo back in August on mutual contract termination. The 31-year-old star attracted interest from a number of teams from Asia and South America in recent months but is still to decide on his future.
Orlando is reportedly looking to exploit Pato’s hesitance and bring the Brazilian to the United States. It is believed that the MLS team presented the player with a competitive offer and believe they have a chance to sign him.
Orlando is facing a rival in Argentinos Juniors, who are also pursuing Alexandre Prato. Their interest was even confirmed by the club’s president Cristian Malaspina, who recently told TyC Sports that he believes Pato could help the team challenge for Copa Libertadores.
Pato started his professional career with Internacional and was considered one of the most talented players of his generation. This secured him a transfer to AC Milan, where he initially showed promise and delivered on the expectations.
Unfortunately, after a couple of successful seasons in Italy, Pato started to have issues with injuries and struggled to remain on the field. This caused Milan to sell him to Corinthians in 2013 and kickstart a journeyman period of his career.
Pato also played for Sao Paolo, Chelsea, and Villareal, among other clubs in the past several years but didn’t manage to get his career back on track. He did flash occasional glimpses of his talent, however, and this is what still makes him an interesting player for many clubs.
