Ok, you WERE serious. I think you’re right; Puli lacks the quality to play for PSG, Real Madrid, or Barca. MLS will pay him more than any other non English club in the world. So if it’s purely about trying to amass Scrooge McDuck levels of wealth, it’s England or MLS for him. It depends on how he’s wired. I took your post to mean he’s not good enough anymore for a top Euro league, which I don’t agree with. At Christmas he was legit a candidate for player of the year in Italy. Then he got hurt and he hasn’t come back from that yet. If I were a sporting director, I’d bet he’s more likely to replicate the first half of the season than the second.
I personally don't see it. .................but I bet we can find posts from the past saying "there's no way Clint Dempsey is coming back to MLS." Then all of a sudden he's unzipping a jacket to reveal a Sounders jersey. Pulisic's isn't paid an exorbitant salary at Milan. 7.4 million dollarsish according to capology. Would an MLS club pay Pulisic 12 million? Would they pay him the salary Son is getting with LAFC? Sure, it would just take one club. Chucky Lozano is currently being paid more to do nothing in San Diego than Pulisic is with Milan. Would he come? Who knows??????????????
Dempsey was on the brink of 31 when he made his debut for Seattle. That's the start of the twilight years, Pulisic is still in his peak.
I hope he does come back. Our best players need to be playing at home to grow the domestic game. Also would give them more chances to play together and build chemistry if the January camps continue (although I'm not sure what the status of that is with the season switcheroo).
With the body of a 36 year old..................... [By the way, Jozy Altidore is CURRENTLY only 36 years old.] I think we as a community kind of forget how impactful Jozy Altidore was in MLS too. 2017=2018 seasons in particular with Giovinco and Bradley. You look at the 2017 playoffs......................he scored the game-winning goals in the Eastern Conference final against the Crew and MLS Cup final against Seattle. People criticize him for not "making it" as a center forward in a top 5 league. As if we have a long history of American center forwards "making it" in top 5 leagues. We have 1 center forward doing well right now in a top 5 league, and its in the 5th league. For a long time this year we were debating our various Championship-level forwards (Wright, Sargent, Downs, Dike, Kelman, etc.) You look at what Altidore did for AZ in two seasons, and not many American-born players have done that. 2012-2013 season...........Jozy scored 31 goals in 41 games across all competitions. People, for some reason, dismiss that. Pulisic himself is doing a lot right now that we don't have a track record of with regards to US-born players. I mean, that man was legitimately one of the best players in Serie A the first half of this season. Legitimately. Then the wheels fell off................................ Thru Pulisic's whole career, staying healthy and impactful thru a whole season has been a problem.
No................................. ...............but what you're saying is he's not one of the 3 best US-born field players in US soccer history. Yes, you're correct. That bar is high. By the way, Jozy's goals per cap rate for the USMNT is 0.37. The only two highly capped players with higher goals per cap rates are Dempsey (0.40) and Pulisic (0.38). Pulisic was way out there until his recent goal drought. Note how similar the numbers are, though. Jozy has a higher goals per cap rate for the USMNT than Brian McBride or Landon Donovan. Compare Jozy's goals per cap rate with the USMNT to our three forwards likely going to the World Cup. Balogun, Wright, and Pepi. Sargent is 0.17. And he didn't just score against CONCACAF cupcakes. We all know what's missing from Jozy's resume. If he'd had a signature moment for the USMNT at the World Cup, I'm convinced he'd be remembered differently. 2014 was his shot, he was in good form going into it, and then got hurt in our first game.
I don't know why you're defending Jozy's record? The point is that his move to Toronto was not the seismic shift that a 28 year-old Pulisic deciding to move to an MLS team would be.
Because I feel like it? I equated a Pulisic move with the Dempsey move to the Sounders. Nobody really saw that coming. He'd played in 43 games for Spurs in 12-13. The transfer fee was reportedly ~9 million. [Dempsey was 30 at the time of the move. Pulisic turns 28 this fall.] The thing with Pulisic is that his contract is expiring after next year. If Milan wants to cash in, this summer is the time. The question is whether Premier League clubs, for instance, want him. We keep hearing rumors that they are. But his 2nd half swoon might lead to caution. Would an MLS club pay Pulisic a salary commensurate with what he'd make in Europe? Yes. You only need one. If they're willing to pay Son 11 million, they'd pay that for Pulisic. But does he want to come home now? My guess is he wants to prove more in Europe. You never know, though. Money is a powerful motivator.
I don't see how any MLS club could entertain making a move for Pulisic this summer. TM has him valued at $58M. I mean, MAYBE I can see an MLS club spending $25M on a transfer, but there's just no way I can imagine any club getting remotely close to the TM valuation. I also don't think he'd be a big enough draw for any club to justify more than that. He's very famous, known even by non-soccer people, but he's not Messi. Now, if he's not sold this summer (which seems doubtful at this point) then maybe an MLS club could come to terms with Milan in the winter. But I don't think Pulisic would go for it, even if offered $10M/yr.
Pulisic's potential level over the next few years will depend on the outcome of his injury issues. It should be remembered he once schooled Real Madrid in UCL. But he's simply been having one problem after another with his core and hamstrings. Can he find a lasting resolution?
They might go higher than that, that's what MLS teams have already paid for Son and Sargent, and one of those is not nearly as famous, while the other is considerably older, so with a lot less time to pay it back. 58 probably still a reach though.
I just can't see anyone paying $58 million for a 28 year-old given his injury history. He's averaged 75 days out per season over the last 5 seasons, that's a quarter of a season per year. And we've seen him struggle to perform because of those nagging problems.