United States

John Brooks sets American record with transfer to Wolfsburg

Published May. 31, 2017 12:16 p.m. ET

Ryan Rosenblatt

John Brooks is now the most expensive American to ever be sold. The central defender is making the move from Hertha Berlin to Wolfsburg for a reported €20 million, smashing the only American record.

Jozy Altidore used to be the most expensive American, having gone from AZ Alkmaar to Sunderland for €10 million in 2013. Brooks has now doubled that.

This is a huge move for Brooks, who has never known any club other than Hertha. He came up in their academy and has been a regular in the Hertha backline for years. But he had a bit of a rough season in 2016/17 and there had been rumors swirling for years that other clubs wanted to buy him, opening the door to a move.

The deal appears to have been Brooks' idea, not Hertha's. The club hinted that the centerback asked for a transfer, which they agreed to in sending him to Wolfsburg.

Now Brooks goes from a club that was in Europe last season and qualified for the Europa League again this season to one that just avoided the drop in the relegation playoff. But while there's no doubt Hertha have been the much better club of late, Wolfsburg are a bigger club. The goal for Brooks will be to help get Wolfsburg back among Germany's elite, where they were just a couple years ago.