Robbie Keane To LA Galaxy From Tottenham Not Yet Official, Misinformation Flying Everywhere

Like you, I'm sitting here waiting on some confirmation regarding the Robbie Keane deal. What we know for sure is that the LA Galaxy want him, they have made an offer, Tottenham have accepted said offer, and Keane has agreed in principle to a contract. Unfortunately, everything else is a whole lot of random misinformation. Let's cover this step by step, I guess.

1. The MLS international transfer window closed at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday night. This means that, in theory, Robbie Keane cannot be signed by LA Galaxy anymore. However, that "in theory" was completely necessary because MLS more or less makes up the rules as they go along. If the Galaxy calls the league office and tells them that they have a deal done in principle before the end of the window, the league will probably look the other way. 

So, what you need to know: Yes, the MLS transfer window has passed. No, it probably does not matter. More after the jump.

2. The transfer fee and contract have been reported differently at every outlet in the world. There seems to be a major mix-up with currency conversions and his contract details. From what I can see, after scouring through loads of sources, I believe the correct numbers to be $3.5m (£2.2m) for the transfer fee and $4.5m (£2.75m) in salary in 2012 and 2013, with his salary for the rest of 2011 probably pro-rated, though that is not confirmed. This salary comes out to £53,000 per week or $86,000 per week, which is a very slight pay reduction from his current wages. However, Keane is likely to pay slightly less of his income in taxes.

3. From what I can tell, Juan Pablo Angel is still on the Galaxy's roster. Even with MLS making up the rules as they go along, there's no way they would be able to sneak Robbie Keane onto the Galaxy roster without Angel leaving. This is probably not a hang-up at all. Angel will be traded or released with a nice big severance package. There is no way the Galaxy lets this hold up the Keane deal. Currently, the Philadelphia Union look like the only potential suitors for Angel's services.

Once again, I feel the need to stress that none of this is confirmed and the deal is not done. At this point, I would be surprised if Robbie Keane was not presented as an LA Galaxy player this week, but there is a lot that is still up in the air - at least as far as the press knows. The facts that are currently available do not allow for us to draw the conclusion that this deal is set in stone.

Hopefully you guys feel a little bit more informed, and we'll make sure to get up any news about Keane if anything official happens. I just felt like this point was necessary this morning. So, are you guys as stunned as I am that we're actually about to get a decent transfer fee for this dude?