Since 2014, former Sligo Rovers midfielder Richie Ryan has been plying his trade.
In 2017, he joined us on the Football Show where he was at a pivotal point of the North American Soccer League with Miami FC who were coached by Alessandro Nesta and co-owned by fellow Italy and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini.
Ryan joined Joe and Kevin tonight as he gets accustomed to a new adventure in his career which has now taken him to Cincinnati FC of the United Soccer League, which has been vying with the NASL for second tier status behind Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada.
But why make the move from the tropical climes of Miami for Cincinnati?
"This is my fourth club in four years since we moved to North America - not by choice. It makes sound like a bit of a journeyman, that I can't settle anywhere. But I've settled in a few of those places but for whatever reasons, it's been time to move on," Ryan explained, before touching on the circumstances which led to his Miami departure.
August 15, 2017 - Cincinnati, OH, USA - Cincinnati, OH - Tuesday August 15, 2017: Nippert Stadium during the FC Cincinnati vs New York Red Bulls during a 2017 U.S. Open Cup game. (Garig Bartram/ISIPhotos via ZUMA Wire)
"It was confirmed yesterday that the NASL won't actually take part or participate whatsoever in 2018. So once I knew there was a chance of the league not happening in 2018, then for me as a professional, I need to playing professional football so it was time for me to make a decision and move on.
"It's unique over here because US Soccer doesn't oversee the leagues. They're all run by different businesses. The MLS, the USL and the NASL, they're not overseen by US Soccer as such, the same as it is in the UK or in Ireland."
With Miami only among a small clutch of teams left in the NASL as other teams departed for various reasons, Ryan decided to make the move away to the USL which is essentially the second tier of US Soccer now.
