Giorgos Giakoumakis says the facilities on offer at Atlanta United were a big factor behind ending his Celtic stint.
The Greek striker was finally unveiled by the MLS side on Wednesday after a long-running transfer saga that started when contract talks with the Premiership champions managed by Ange Postecoglou broke down earlier this term. Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds were the frontrunners initially before talk of Serie with Sampdoria emerged, but eventually it was Atlanta who came out on top.
Their league campaign begins later this month against San Jose Earthquakes and there were plenty of reasons for why America was a good fir for Giakoumakis after Celtic, including a passionate fanbase like the one he encountered in Glasgow. But it was their training camp and 71,000 capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium - also used by NFL franchise Atlanta Falcons - that sealed the deal. He told his new side's club media: "First of all, I watched a lot MLS the last two or three years, and of course it was one of the leagues that I would love to play in.
"Atlanta because I know Atlanta is a very, very good, very nice club. It’s a big club with a lot of fans, which is something that I really like because I'm a passionate person.
"I love to play in front of crazy fans, which Atlanta has, and I watched all of Atlanta United’s games from last season. It helped me a lot to make up my mind and sign with Atlanta.
"And I researched about the training facilities and the stadium and they’re just amazing. It was an extra motivation to join Atlanta.
"My wife is going to follow me with my two kids, I can't wait. When you join Atlanta, you have to have as a main target the goal to win the league.
"And as many trophies as possible. That’s the main target you have, one of my targets is also is to be a top scorer in the league and help my team with many goals."
