England’s Jermain Defoe leaving Tottenham Hotspurs to join Toronto FC

Jermain Defoe surrounded by camera’s at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. PHOTO/Twitter/TorontoFC

England international striker Jermain Defoe will be leaving Tottenham Hotspurs and join Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC at the end of February.

The 31-year-old Defoe has scored 142 goals during 2 spells at Tottenham and is the club’s top scorer in European competitions.

The Toronto-bound Defoe began his Tottenham farewell by scoring as Spurs moved within one point of the Champions League spots and Crystal Palace dropped to last place in the Premier League on Saturday.

Tottenham confirmed on Friday last week that Defoe would leave for Toronto FC at the end of February. Defoe wrapped up the 2-0 win over Palace with a clinical finish in the 72nd minute at White Hart Lane. Defoe spun away from his marker and looped a shot over Julian Speroni 15 minutes after being introduced as a substitute.

Tottenham also announced an advertising and marketing deal with Toronto’s owners, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and an exhibition at Toronto on July 23 between matches at Seattle on July 19 and Chicago on July 26.

”We are thrilled, for our club and for our fans, with the opportunity to bring a global soccer superstar like Jermain Defoe to Toronto FC,” Maple Leaf President Tim Leiweke said in a statement. ”We promised our fans in October that building a winning club was our top priority, and we scoured the globe to find the right players to fulfill that promise. Right from the beginning of this process, Jermain Defoe was the top player on our list, and we got our man.”

Source: Associated Press