Could somebody post a short synopsis for those of us without access to the athletic?
2019 General MLS Transfer Rumors
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
Summary for people who aren't paying for The Athletic (I've also failed to summarize in the past so I'm atoning I guess):
- LAG have 4 players on contracts above the 1.5+change million TAM threshold - Romain Alessandrini, Giovanni Dos Santos, Jona Dos Santos and Zlatan. The signs point to Gio Dos Santos being the 4th ranked.
- There are 3 ways forward - renegotiate Gio, pay him backdoor or have MLS change the rules.
- Renegotiating Gio would be unprecedented. Paying him backdoor would be a catastrophe - why have rules if they are not respected. MLS changing the rules has precedent. Author seems to think that this is the most likely scenario. Which is better than allowing LAG to flout the rules, and theoretically allows other teams to benefit, but this late in the offseason it's questionable if anybody would be able to, which still gives LAG an advantage at least until summer.
Also, MLSPA came out and said they would not allow a player to give up guaranteed $. So option 1 is not only unprecedented, but not possible. So it's under the table, or re-write the rules for LAG. They need to transfer/cut him.
So LAG has essentially forced the hand of MLS to once again change the rules. What’s to stop the next club from signing a player over the limit w/o removing one (on purpose of course) to get the rules changed again???? Seems if MLS kowtows to LAG, then we’re one step closer to doing away with the CAP.
so what happens if a team is not roster compliant? they lose points? or lose all games to default 3-0?
Atlanta must be super pissed if this goes thru with them almost being forced to sell almiron for the spot since pity was already on his way
Atlanta must be super pissed if this goes thru with them almost being forced to sell almiron for the spot since pity was already on his way
I finally signed up for the Athletic. About time really. There's also another good piece by Tenorio on the Gutman saga with Celtic/Chicago/MLS/Nashville. A few takeaways from that one:
- Chicago did not rate him and only offered him the league minimum$70,250 for 2019; they were prepared to increase the offer but not 6 figures;
- MLS hoping to avoid a good prospect to a foreign club stepped in and made an offer of $150,000 avg/year;
- He goes to Celtic but then has work permit issues, circles back to MLS but that deal is now off the table;
- Part of Nashville's expansion agreement, even though they aren't in the league yet, contains specific language that they are "bound by MLS rules, including MLS player rules."
"Even though MLS is legally able to block such a move, their decision to do so shows just how restrictive the league can be even when, in a narrow sense, denying such a loan would seem to run counter to the interests of Gutman and Nashville SC. (As for Chicago, while the Fire were not involved in the decision to block the loan, at the very least they lost out on an opportunity to negotiate a trade with Nashville for Gutman’s rights.)"
I hope Atlanta is on that committee after being forced to take less $ for Almiron transfer, because their backs were up against the wall with the same rule. I'd love to hear how that goes.
Other MLS teams better tell them to shove it.
Also, this wasn't mentioned in the Athletic article as an option, but can't they use the one time a season buyout on his contract, then re-sign him to a lesser, cap friendly deal? That would be legal and he would not be foregoing any guaranteed money.
I think the issue is that puts him out of contract, and then not just any MLS club but any club worldwide can sign him (subject to visa eligibility). Does the club trust the player that much?
This would be the same situation we were in with Mix, which turned out to be more complicated than just paying him off and releasing him. Mix remained under contract to MLS, but NYCFC couldn't play him. I think another team could have claimed him (not 100% sure), but at that price, nobody did. That's why he was lent out to the Swedish team for a year or so.
If the same thing happened with Gio, he would remain contracted to the league, who would have to find a place to loan him. This would presumably be at less than $6 million/year, with LAG eating the difference outside the cap. It is certainly possible it rolls out differently, with Gio just taking the money and walking away, but that's not how it worked with Mix.
ETA: One thing to make clear - I don't think that LAG would be allowed to sign Gio if they bought him out.
Nani to Orlando. Formerly of the NYCFC Players Wanted section.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/02/15/source-nani-final-negotiations-join-orlando-city-sc
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/02/15/source-nani-final-negotiations-join-orlando-city-sc
Well that’s the striker Dome was hoping for. Guess we’re SOL now thanks the MLS roster rules. You’d think teams would be incentivized to sell within the league.
Interesting- makes it sound like LAG are definitely doing the 1-time buyout and in an effort to balance their books needed the China money to make the payoff.
While everyone is fixated on the Galaxy, FC Dallas quietly but openly has 4 DPs on their roster:
Bryan Acosta
Cristian Colman
Carlos Gruezo
Santiago Mosquera
https://www.fcdallas.com/players
Discovered via Taylor Twellman on Twitter.
Bryan Acosta
Cristian Colman
Carlos Gruezo
Santiago Mosquera
https://www.fcdallas.com/players
Discovered via Taylor Twellman on Twitter.
I believe the Dallas problem might be more easily solved with a basic TAM buydown, though.
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