HE’S BEEN WITHOUT a club since the summer of 2018 as injuries took their toll on his body but Giuseppe Rossi, the 33-year-old attacker, is starting a new chapter.

The New Jersey native will play in Major League Soccer for the very first time after Real Salt Lake confirmed his signing on Thursday. 

Born and raised in the US, Rossi had been training with the Utah-based club during the off-season. 

The striker first made his name as a youngster at Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 2004 and remaining at Old Trafford until 2007.

At that point, he moved to Spain and signed for Villarreal where his first four seasons were excellent. Rossi regularly hit double-figures in La Liga and enjoyed his best season in 2011 when he managed 32 in all competitions.

But in October of that year, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Real Madrid and was out for six months. Upon his return to training and desperate to get back to full fitness in time for the summer’s European Championship, he reinjured the knee and was out for another year.

Ever since, knee injuries have curtailed his success at various clubs including Fiorentina, where he was between 2013 and 2017 but restricted to just 34 appearances. Still, he managed to find the net sixteen times proving he still could do a job in front of goal.

A move to Genoa lasted only one season and he’s been training with various teams – including United – while trying to keep his fitness up.  

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