2018-19 Silly Season

I agree. Now hopefully Tito can stay healthy himself. The MLS salary cap rules confuse me, but if I have It right, we paid down his salary with allocation to money free up a DP spot to get Barco. Injuries relegated him to a super-sub role, but essentially he is our 4th designated player. I also believe he has a green card so he doesn't take up an international player slot (Do I have that right? Probably not.).

 

Could be.

Nor would I. Tito came thru a lot for us. But he probably wants to start more often. This Club America can probably offer him that.

 

I don't see how selling Villalba helps the DP situation at all.

 

I believe you are correct. Funny aside, Football Manager has no real method to handle green cards, so they just give them citizenship. Tito actually plays for the USMNT in one of my games.

We're gonna play a fairly packed schedule this year. That has to mean more rotation than before, so we'll need all the depth we can get. I'd imagine Atlanta isn't looking to sell. There can't be a lot of players available that can give you the productivity Tito does as a non-DP, so him leaving would almost certainly make the team worse. Everyone has a price, so you can never say for certain, but the question is is Club America willing to pay it? If I'm Atlanta there's no negotiation. Give Club America a ridiculous amount and let them decide if they want the player that much.

 

It says a lot about how byzantine the MLS contract rules are that the game makers can't even accurately account for them. Gives me even more respect for the guys in the front office.

And you are spot on about Villalba's true value to the team, especially given our expanded schedule. Personally I am discounting this rumor, but your idea of setting a sky high price tag on Tito makes sense.

 

What if the player wants to leave? I think if he really wants to leave, which we don't know for a fact, ATL won't have any other options but to let him go. So a price to high just so he can't leave can also affect the team in general with a player who is upset that he wasn't let go.

 

This is true. Since I haven't heard anything to the contrary, I'm going off the assumption that Tito is in no hurry to leave. It's quite possible Club America knows Atlanta doesn't want to sell, so they got the story out that they're interested to try to unsettle Tito. They could be talking to his agent and telling him that they would be willing to triple his salary, for instance. If Tito does become unsettled I don't think that's something that can realistically be kept under wraps, so I assume we'd hear about it. Until we do, I'll assume he's happy to stay and Atlanta won't be willing to negotiate on a sale price.

You do have a point though about keeping players after they want to leave, and I think this is relevant to Miggy as well. Atlanta wants to be a club where they can get up and coming players to come to ply their trade for a couple years before they move on to greater things. It's hard to make that case however when the first time a player wants to transfer you don't pull the trigger. It sounds like the club wants at least $30 mil for Miggy. You of course want to get the most value for your assets, but if a club (say, Newcastle) puts forth what most in the soccer world believes is a reasonable offer, I think Atlanta's hand might be forced (not to mention with the DP situation). Otherwise you run the risk of the next Miggy saying no thanks when Atlanta comes calling. Whatever that number is I have no idea, but it's something to consider.

 

Is Villalba unhappy or is that merely speculation for the sake of the question?

 

Another question, is Villalba underpaid? He was a DP in 2017 and the club paid down his salary to make room for Barco, so I imagine he earns a relatively high salary by MLS standards, but to be honest the MLS salary cap rules baffle me. Even the convoluted IRS tax code is easier to understand.

 

Just speculation as far as I know. As for his salary, I usually go by the impression that most players not on a DP salary in MLS could probably make more money elsewhere. According to the MLS player's association Tito's total compensation for 2018 was around $770k. That makes him the fourth highest earner on the club, just over Guzan. If Club America really wants him, there would be no issues in their ability to offer him a significant raise from what he's making now.

 

Pity Martinez has landed in Atlanta. It is going to be interesting to see if we can consummate a deal for Miggy before the transfer window closes.

 

Assuming Pity is all but signed, I wonder if the slow Almiron transfer delay was used to delay getting Pity into preseason to give him an extra week or two off, without calling it as such.

 

I think so because we could probably find a SA club to take Barco on loan until we sell Miggy in the summer.

 

I am pretty sure Darren Eales already has a contingency plan in place that involves sending Barco back to Independiente on a short term loan. That allows us keep Miggy until the summer transfer window opens up. In truth though nobody really knows, but there is no reason to believe Newcastle can low ball us (if anything they are in the weak bargaining position).

 

Here's a question. If a MLS team sends a player out on loan, does that players wage still count towards the salary cap? If so, you'd have to find a team willing to take on a good portion of Barco's salary. That may prove difficult.

 

Good question. My understanding is loaning Barco out frees up the DP slot he currently occupies. We would also be responsible for actually paying part of his salary if a club like Independiente takes him on loan. It will take someone much smarter than me to explain how all this plays into the MLS salary cap picture on the whole.

 

That's what I'm hearing too. Just curious if that's fact or people just assuming. Regardless I'm sure Atlanta would be forced to pay some portion of his salary, which while they can afford it, I'm sure they're not thrilled with the prospect.

My guess is the $30 mil ask is a sort of "buy him now" price for Miggy. I imagine they'll be willing to negotiate on deadline day, maybe $25 mil. That would still be the highest fee ever for a MLS player. Does Newcastle (or anyone else) want to risk having to bid against other clubs for his services?

 

The Pity signing is now official. So now we're officially over capacity on DPs. Does that mean we have a deal on Miggy or a loan deal for Barco?

 

Well the AJC's article announcing Pity's signing addresses our DP problem with some additional insight, and by insight I mean they muddy the waters even further...

https://www.ajc.com/sports/finally-...d-signs-pity-martinez/xObKgMcgX4kJOyejPTZggO/

Basically because Barco is a "Young DP" the AJC says if United can't sell Miggy and have to loan Barco, the team taking him on would have to pay his entire 2018 salary ($1.425 million). That certain complicates things even more.

 

We paid a $15M transfer fee for Barco, and that was generally considered a wise move. While he didn't consistently start this year, he certainly showed he's got the skills. Surely there's somebody out there who's willing to take a $15M player for $1.4M instead.

Of course, that $30M valuation for Almiron may just be a negotiating piece. Transfer deals are often complicated, and the final number may be something more like "$18M plus incentives" that the FO thinks will eventually add up to $25M, and they'll be extremely happy with that. Or maybe not, and $30M is firm, and nobody buys and Rafa quits and Newcastle gets relegated.

There's still a week left in the Premier League transfer window, and I strongly suspect Atlanta wouldn't have announced the Pity deal without at least a handshake in place for either Barco or Almiron.

 

To be honest, I've never really hated or loved a player based on their team affiliation. These guys are all mercenaries, hired guns who will wield their magical feet for whatever team pays them the most (with rare exception). The value of the compensation may vary from player to player, to be sure. For Miggy, the bright lights of Europe seem to be at least as important as the number of zeroes on the paycheck. Hence, if a team from China offered the right number, he might not go.

Conversely, I will hate a TEAM without remorse for no other reason than that they wear the wrong color shirts. And I may like individual players on said team. I will still hate the team. (Tennessee Volunteers, I'm looking at you.)