Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I think it sounds like things might be patched over (at least temporarily). If that was the case, it might be in Heaps best interest not to reveal it so Vancouver has to prepare for either situation (at least I could see him thinking like that).
New article from a Spanish website which I'm not familiar with. Good article though that summarizes what has happened. http://www.elenganche.es/2014/03/new-england-revolution-goncalves-el-dinero-lo-complica-todo.html
Honestly, this article doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It's just a summary of all the things we've already heard.
"It’s an episode that has done little to dispel the perception that New England is a club that does things on the cheap." - Oh please, who has such a perception really? Everybody knows that Parky only went to the Crew because he wanted to live large in happening Central Ohio and it's famous club scene. Although more seriously, knowing the stories we hear out of Europe, if Goncalves is unhappy or surprised by the team paying him what's in the contract he signed, he only has himself and/or his agent to blame. If he's travelled around so much, he must be aware of the shady things that happen in small and not so small leagues over there. As has been said, it's not impossible, but I just can't imagine the Revs having promised some big pay day to anybody, or that any agent worth his salt wouldn't be aware of the Revs and their reputation regarding money.
Nothng really new here, although I don't know what they mean by a "pay cut." I may be wrong, but I understood it that he is making the same as he made last year, but the difference is that it is all coming out of the Revs' pockets, not the split last year where the majority came from his old club. Unless there were certain extras that the Swiss club gave him that were not part of his Revs contract...
From what I remember originally, I thought that with Sion's help, he was being paid something like $900k or so. I can't remember where I saw this information, but I think it came out when the original story broke.
If that's the case and he's now at $450k - a 50% reduction after winning defender of the year - wow. I'd be pissed too.
I really don't like projecting stuff like this, but the contact on Goncalves' injury yesterday didn't seem *that* bad, and I can't help wondering if it's something he would have tried to play through last year. I can't shake the idea that "patched up" or not, we're only going to get 80% of Jose's best this season.
To quote the article "...(New England)will pay him $479,375 this season, making him the second-highest paid defender in the league behind the LA Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez. Yet, sources indicated that Goncalves’ total compensation is well below what he was making last year..." So if we believe the article, he was making well above $479,375 last year and this year, coming off defender of the year and being the prime age of this career, he's only making $479,375. It seems pretty clear to me that, even though his contract was set up this way, he still felt that what happened isn't right, and he got pissed. I think I'd be pissed too. He's in the prime of his career, probably will never have as much transfer value as last year, and felt like he was owed a bump in pay, or at least the same level of pay as last year. It's not all that different from the Vince Wilfork saga is it?
Vince is old for a D-lineman at 32 and coming off a bad injury. Only my opinion but not the same as Gonsalves
I meant the same as in, both players outplayed their contract,were still under contract and wanted to get paid more. Vince said he wanted to be released, but I don't think Gonsalves ever said that. Also, Vince is not in his prime anymore, which I think highlights even further how Gonsalves should have even more right to be unhappy. I think Vince got a lot more public support for his stance than Gonsalves did which seems unfair. That's my point.
Totally different situations, not even taking into account the players' ages. Vince's contract is not guaranteed, and people were saying that the Pats might just wait a while and then release him right before the season, when there might not have been a market for Vince anymore. People are going to have more sympathy for unguaranteed contracts than guaranteed.
What I'm wondering is, how did he and/or his agent get the expectation that the Revs were going to "make up" the Sion part of the deal that they didn't pay last year (and wasn't part of the contract)? That total would bring him into a territory that MLS generally just doesn't pay for defenders - or at least those with as little international cache as JoGo. Marquez, Donadoni, Matteus, etc. may have greatly under-performed expectations, but they had world-wide recognition. I just don't get where anyone could have thought MLS would pay that kind of level for Goncalves. By MLS standards for defenders, he's very, very well paid.
It's simple, MLS grossly undervalues defenders and grossly overvalues everyone else. Given their importance, a guy like Collin for SKC should be making more than he does, as should Goncalves. Parkhurst is another one. On JoGo, even if Sion was paying half and the contract said it was going to stop, how could the revs not pay Goncalves at least what he made in 2013? Note, this isn't a raise - this is simply paying your captain the same rate as last season. It's borderline unethical to take advantage of a guy like that - the revs knew what they were doing even if JoGo's agent didn't.
I think that the fact that the likes of Omar Gonzales makes more money would be enough to piss me off.
Maybe I missed it, but is there any news on the severity of JoGo injury? MLS article today says a quad injury. But no other detail. FWIW -- Most of last year's key players down the middle of the field are now gone or injured. Agudelo; JoGo; Reis.
@rmurphy131 Nothing yet. Hopefully we'll know more in next couple days.— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) April 13, 2014