I'm thinking they probably just wanted to keep him, so nothing to lose. If he becomes a star in Europe, he is tied to SKC if and when he comes back to MLS. All clubs should be making whatever qualifies as a "boba-fide" offer to players such as him, regardless of where they are going.I wonder if that's a deliberate move acting on the assumption that the whole EPB move was a ploy to get him to New York, and therefore holding out for a late second payday.