Gareth Bale looks set to be playing for Los Angeles FC beyond the World Cup.
The Wales captain has agreed to join the MLS side on a free transfer, having left Real Madrid after nine years in Spain.
“Our transfer window opens in early July when we can register,” confirmed LAFC co-president John Thorrington. “We still have to go through paperwork, hopefully a week or the next 10 days to take care of that, to welcome him and his family to LA, get up to speed.
“I’d love to get into specifics but I don’t as a policy, but what I can tell you is that LAFC and Gareth are hoping that this is a long-term partnership,” Thorrington said, speaking after a 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls that kept the side top of the MLS standings.
“It was never about six months just for the World Cup. We were always talking about longer-term than that. That was very clear from Gareth and his representative.
“When Gareth is looking at what he needs to do, his priority will be at LAFC – we are absolutely sure of that – but we’re not naive to the fact that he, like some other players of ours, have a World Cup on the horizon.”