New York Knicks all-star forward Carmelo Anthony is now a franchise owner, of the Puerto Rico FC soccer team. In a press conference on Friday, Anthony and soccer team Puerto Rico FC announced that the 31-year-old will be the side's owner. P.R.F.C will be the 13th club to join the North American Soccer League (NASL), starting in 2016.

Melo who is off Puerto Rican descent, told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview. "My passion for soccer has always been there,"

"I just always kept it to myself and among my circle. Going to games, sneaking into games and just watching and being around the sport over the years. The more time I started spending in Puerto Rico over the past six, seven years I realized that there was kind of a void down there on my island. The island didn't really have anything that they could kind of call their own, that they could represent not just on the island but from a global standpoint."

Anthony, also has reassured that this will no way distract him from his main goal, of winning an NBA Championship. "Basketball is my No. 1 thing," he said. "I'm very hands-on but it's more about taking the time now during the offseason. I spend a lot of time in Puerto Rico training. I'll do like a mini-training camp down there. Right now it's about putting the right people in place so that when I'm back to my regular job, basketball is my main focus. I'll have a solid group of people running [Puerto Rico FC] on a day-to-day basis."

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