Soccer-Villarreal agree to sign forwards Altidore and Flores

MADRID, June 7 | Sat Jun 7, 2008 10:26am BST

MADRID, June 7 (Reuters) - Villarreal have agreed to sign United States striker Jozy Altidore and Uruguay forward Robert Flores, the Primera Liga club said.

Altidore, 18, moves from the New York Red Bulls for a reported fee of some $10 million which would be a record paid for a Major League Soccer (MLS) player. He has scored 18 goals in 36 starts in the MLS.

"This signing is big news. It's like when Pau Gasol signed for the Los Angeles Lakers in basketball. If he had been signed by another team the story would be all over the place, but he is ours," Villarreal president Fernando Roig was quoted as saying by Spanish media on Saturday.

Flores, 22, moves from Uruguay's River Plate where he impressed last season with three goals in 13 games.

Villarreal also said midfielder Bruno Soriano had agreed a four-year contract extension until 2012.

The east-coast club finished second in the Primera Liga last season to earn automatic qualification for the Champions League.

(Writing by Mark Elkington, Editing by Clare Fallon)

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