Don’t call him the “Scottish Messi”, no seriously, don’t call him that. He doesn’t like it. The Vancouver Whitecaps Ryan Gauld, the long-awaited number 10. The Vancouver Whitecaps announced Saturday, July 31st that the team had come to an agreement to sign Gauld to a Designated Player contract through 2024.
Gauld comes over from SC Farense in the Portuguese Primeira Liga where he made 33 appearances in the 2021 season scoring 9 goals and adding 7 assists. The 25-year-old from Aberdeen, Scotland has also appeared on the U-21 and U-19 teams. Axel Schuster spoke about the newest Whitecaps.
“I am very happy that we could finally get this signing done… We were looking for a player that helps us to make the next step, that is a player that also helps us next season to make the next step.”
Losing Ali Adnan after not being to work out Visa issues was a tough loss for the club. It makes the timing of the Gauld signing even more important for the Whitecaps. Gauld joined the team in Utah and started training Monday in Vancouver. He spoke about what he thought of the Whitecaps facilities. “The training center is incredible. I would say by far the best facility that I have been at, been a part of.”
The Newest Vancouver Whitecaps Ryan Gauld Meets The Media
In an affair that featured Irn-Bru, Shortbread, and Haggis Chips. The Vancouver Whitecaps rolled out the red carpet to show off their newest signing. Flanked by Axel Schuster and Head Coach Marc Dos Santos, Ryan took questions from a field of media on hand and then on zoom. He was asked why he chose Vancouver and if money was a factor?
“I have never been one to make my decisions over money, I have always thought there is more to a career and more to life than money. What it was the confidence that everyone at the club that I spoke to showed how much they wanted me. What they thought I could do here what they thought I could bring to the club, really the Whitecaps were the first club that reached out to me and showed how much they wanted me here.”
“I would say first of all whenever I play I leave everything I can on the pitch, I will give everything I got to the team. Hopefully, my creative side can help create opportunities and score some goals for the club and help turn a few of the draws into wins.” On what he brings to the pitch and the type of player he is.
“It’s normal whenever you change over leagues it’s expected to be a small period of time till you adjust to everything but I have been welcomed brilliantly here by everyone, all the staff, the players so I am hoping that the adjustment won’t take too long and I can hit the ground running and be able to help out the team as soon as possible.” Ryan Gauld when asked about making the move to MLS with the travel and style of the league.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos spoke about what he thinks Ryan can bring to the team, “Ryan is a player that I have known for a while since he was at Sporting, then he had a phase of loans here and there and what I’m going to say I told Ryan, I never had a doubt in the technical ability of Ryan it’s a player that has great vision, great first touch, looks for the last pass and has a very good delivery on set plays so he’s going to make us even better there.”
He would continue to talk about the doubts he had with Ryans game but it changed over time when he changed the intensity of his game, “The doubt I had was always in the moments when the team lost the ball or Ryan without the ball but there has been an incredible improvement. I remember when I had a lot of doubts on that, maybe even one year ago… There was a huge change in the intensity in his game, I even went back and looked at other games… Ryan is another one in the sum of the parts.”
I had to find out more about Ryan Gauld off the pitch and what he does for fun. It turns out he has some pretty good hobbies for living in Vancouver.
The Vancouver Whitecaps And The Sports Talk Line Network
The Whitecaps will hope Ryan Gauld can be that missing piece to take them to the next level. With 16 matches in the books, Vancouver sits just out of the playoff picture in the MLS Western Conference. Make sure to check out the Sports Talk Line Network for all the latest Whitecaps news and updates.
With 9 home matches left at BC Place make sure to follow me on Twitter @JoshuaGriffitth0 for all the latest Whitecaps news and notes. The Whitecaps next match is
