Adu to stay in Lisbon -- on loan to Belenenses

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Sep 1, 2009

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Freddy Adu will stay in Lisbon -- but not at Benfica, which indicated in no uncertain terms that the 20-year-old American was unwanted. Instead, Adu will join Belenenses for his second year on loan. The loan deal ended months of speculation about the unsettled Adu's future.

Benfica acquired Adu from Real Salt Lake in 2007, but the the Ghanaian-born player saw his playing time quickly diminish after a promising start.

His second European season, at French club Monaco, was a carbon copy of the first. He played nine league games in the first half of the season but never got in a league game after the winter break.

Adu has seen less playing time in the last two seasons combined than in each of his first three seasons in MLS with D.C. United.

YEAR TEAM GP G
2004 D.C. United 30-5
2005 D.C. United 25-4
2006 D.C. United 32-2
2007 Real Salt Lake 11-1
2007-08 Benfica 11-2
2008-09 Monaco 9-0