A little over three years ago, on February 16th, 2018, Major League Soccer team, the New York Red Bull's, signed then 23-year-old Alejandro Romero Gamarra, nicknamed Kaku, to great fanfare. This was to such a great length that fans met him at the airport when he arrived in the metro area. This came after a 2-month saga of issues and payments which fans happily referred to as Kaku Watch. The New York Red Bulls signed him to a club record of $6.25 million, as the club's new record signing. Known at his previous clubs for being skillful and creative, Kaku quickly became an essential asset to the 2018 Red Bulls team. Kaku contributed to the Red Bull's spectacular first half of 2018, contributing with important goals and assists, greatly adding to an exciting and high-scoring team. Some of the most memorable games from that spring were when Kaku was at his best, running the game with his creativity and passes. Kaku was a star on the Red Bulls and in the league throughout the spring and early summer, even being top of the league in assists.
The honeymoon stage of the Red Bulls and Kaku ended when then Red Bull's manager Jesse Marsch left to pursue coaching in Europe, and assistant coach Chris Armas was appointed manager. Kaku's form dropped off significantly, going along with the whole team also getting worse. The regular season ended with celebrations, as the New York Red Bulls set a league record for the most regular-season points, partially due to Kaku's early-season contributions. In spite of the Red Bulls' post-season November failure, 2018 ended well for Kaku, having been a star player for the team.
The beginning of 2019 started to increase the drama between Kaku and the Red Bulls, as Kaku expressed the desire to leave to go join Club América, another soccer team in Mexico. Kaku's agent began to use Kaku's social media, especially his Twitter account, to send cryptic tweets about Kaku's desire to go to Mexico. This went so far that Kaku was excluded from the gameday team in early 2019, due to these tweets. The Red Bulls refused to sell him, holding out for a higher offer. After this drama, the next incident happened in mid-April, during the Red Bulls' draw against Sporting Kansas City in Kansas City, Kaku intentionally kicked a ball into the crowded stands, injuring a fan. The fan was eventually okay, and Kaku earned a multiple-game suspension, continuing the controversy around him.
The season continued poorly for Kaku, who was never able to fully reignite the spark and magic of early 2018, under the previous coach. Without their playmaker in form, the Red Bulls also continued with a lackluster season, turning into a boring mid-table team. Kaku's magic would come out sometimes, but he finished the season with significantly worse statistics than 2018, and the team ended with another playoff failure. Transfer rumors continued in the 2019 offseason, but nothing to the extent of the winter before. Kaku's third season with the Red Bulls ended quickly, due to the shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. After the eventual restart in July, Kaku contributed to the team, leading in assists, but not enough to influence against the Red Bull's poor summer form, though, his performance did improve when the coach was fired.
The drama started back up again after the ending of the chaotic 2020 season, with rumors of Kaku leaving the Red Bulls again, to a greater extent. Other American, Mexican, and Argentinian teams all had an interest in buying Kaku from the Red Bulls. This created problems as after the 2020 season had ended, the Red Bulls exercised Kaku's contract renewal, meaning he was contractility bound to the team, complicating a transfer as the Red Bulls had no interest in selling him. At the beginning of February, Kaku was seen posting on his social media that he was in Dubai. A few days later, the Saudi Arabian club Al-Taawoun announced that Kaku had agreed to a contract with the club, meaning that Kaku was contractility bound to two clubs, creating a legal mess. The Red Bulls posted no message of saying thank you to Kaku, foreshadowing the mess that was about to come.
Kaku's agents seem to argue that Kaku's contract was renewed by the Red Bulls without his "contractual awareness," making the point that he shouldn't be bound by it. The Red Bulls argue the other way, saying that Kaku is still a player for the club. In the MLS a few years ago, this same situation has happened, with players being technically bound to two clubs, resulting in the transfer to the new club happening. Kaku's agents appear to be trying to do this, which should result in Kaku ending up with the Al-Taawoun and the Red Bulls earning a decent paycheck for his transfer.
Kaku made his Al-Taawoun debut in mid-Febuarary, assisting in a goal, and a few days later scoring, signaling the transfer will soon go through. The Red Bulls are going to take further legal action, either in an attempt for more money, or to actually keep Kaku as a player. Keeping Kaku as a player, when he is so unhappy here, seems to be a bad solution for both the club and the player, as an unhappy player sitting on the bench only takes away from the team. The best resolution, which should soon be achieved, is Kaku's transfer to Al-Taawoun going through and the Red Bulls gaining some money in exchange.
Even through the drama, Kaku was a wonderful player to support and watch, who brought so much excitement to the fans. His childlike smile, which fans couldn't help but love, couldn't quite outshine the drama that his time with the Red Bulls brought. Kaku and his magic helped the Red Bulls set a league points record, and yet, from his time here, the transfer sagas and the ball kicked into the stands of Kansas City will be what he was best remembered for at the New York Red Bulls. It's not the best legacy to leave at a club, but Kaku's memory of the good and bad times will live on with fans for quite a while, which is better than being quickly forgotten.
What a story! Hopefully he is happy with his choice!
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