I've had a hunch about that latter point all along... certainly Anschutz and AEG can afford to pony up the necessary cash to buy out his contract.
The problem is the MLS may not pony up enough bucks to outbid an EPL team. Plus, Leverkusen could recall him, showcase him for a few games, then sell him for even a larger amount to some Euro team. Either way, MLS's money bag ain't as big as some of the competitiors and Leverkusen holds all the cards. Of course, a serious injury to Landon would change all that. Of course there's also the possibility that Leverkusen may actually need him, particularly since the team ain't doing so hot nowadays.
It should be interesting to see how this plays out. I think Donovan has made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to play for Leverkusen. Does any club really want a player who doesn't want to be there? I wonder how it works in international soccer if a player doesn't report. I know that in most US sports, a player can just sit out the remainder of his contract and be a free agent. This is probably the opening shot in a pretty fierce battle.
a buyout is different than a transfer. With a transfer, another team is paying for exclusive rights to bargain with the player. In a buyout, the player offers money to his employing team to gain free agency. Basically he speeds up his contract. But this is a somewhat intriguing situation because of the MLS single-entity. If AEG steps up and buysout the contract from Leverkusen, they wouldn't have anything to do with the deal struck between Landon and MLS. My assumption would be that they would only buyout if MLS and Donovan had come to a verbal agreement on a new contract. However, if you take Bergin's the words as fact. Buyout never came up. It also mentiones Leverkusn wanting to recoup some money. That immediatly would rule out MLS, as they would not be able to afford Landon's transfer fee (probably something in the neghborhood of 5 - 8 million Pounds, or half of what Liverpool paid for El-Hadj Diouf). The final factor is Landon himself. Leverkusen and another club can agree to a transfer fee but the decision is upto Landon on whether or not he wants to sign with that club.
Fat chance. Leverkusen would go to FIFA--which is based in Zurich, not the U.S.-- who in turn would tell Landon to report or face their wrath. Either way, Landon has no bargaining power and both sides know it. Landon has to grow up and quit being a mama's boy. He knows the day would come that Leverkusen would call on him. If he can work out a deal where Leverkusen would sell him to another Euro club, that's fine. But he has to quit whining that he doesn't wanna go 'cuz his mama and girl friend are here. Plus he knows full well that he will have to go to Europe some day to up his game to another level. If he's not carefull, he's going to come off looking like a sissy.
Landon is a couple years older, he's won a couple of titles, he's played in the World Cup. He's done about everything he can playing in MLS. I'd think even less of the guy than I do now if he doesn't make an effort to play at a higher level. You don't get to the level he's at without some kind of competitive nature. Why settle when you can try a higher level?
of course, we've heard all of this before and Landon's still in MLS. there seems to be a new rumor or news story every few weeks on this. i don't think he'll play for leverkusen but I would imagine they are eager to get something to show for their investment so I would expect a transfer of some sort. and i'm probably in the minority, but I'd rather he stayed in MLS. I'd rather McBride and Howard stayed here, too. I'm an MLS fan and I want to see the best American players when I go out to Spartan. Call me selfish, but a Quakes-Crew game with Donovan and McBride is more fun than a game with Ching-Buddle. But that's just me.
Best case scenario--Landon says he doesn't want to leave the US to play in Europe. Leverkusen tries to force the issue. It becomes a big news story. "US citizen being forced to leave the country by sinister international organization!" Can you imagine the quality coverage for MLS? Resolutions in the US Senate. The president commenting on it during a speech. It would be a major story on all the newscasts. Suddenly US soccer would become a patriotic game. (And also a very valuable lesson for the young players thinking about signing to train with foreign sides.) Hey, I don't care if the Eurosnobs have a cow. What good do they do for MLS anyway? I hope LD tells Leverkusen to stick it. It would be great for the league.
It's always nice to make a news story out of the status quo we have known for almost 2 years. Landon's loan expires at the end of this year, and after that he's under contract to Bayer Leverkusen? Thanks for the breaking news, USSoccerUK.
i don't think even the most jingoistic press (not that there's any real press in america that's going to take it up) could pass this off as a "US citizen being force to leave the country". this would be nothing more than his US employer telling him "sorry, but we no longer have a position for you". presidents seldom comment on something so mundane. there is nothing sinister, or even remotely unethical, about leverkusen holding donovan accountable to a portion of the contract that he signed.
Right on, it would teach those euro jackasses that if they mess with a American soccer players career then the American soccer player can mess with them right back, it could lead to more of our stars thinking 'hey look what Landon did, we dont have to go to europe either' and they would stay with MLS where we could watch them play without a cable television station. GO Landon! GO MLS! Go Earthquakes!
Who exactly is "messing with an American soccer player's career"? The dude voluntarily signed a contract. "Euro jackasses" didn't hold him at gunpoint and force him to play. Instead they let him cruise back to the U.S. for a few years to keep him happy. I guess I'm just wondering if you're retarded, or just being funny.
Donovan Bayer have done nothing but accommodate Landon. Regardless of how you feel about our players going over seas, this is really about a player signing a contract and not fulfilling his end. "Messing with US players"? You can't be this stupid, so i'll assume you where joking. Donovan has to act like an adult. When you sign a contract, you have to live up to it. If Donovan treatens Leverkusen with anything, they should force him to return and sit him on the reserves bench until 2008. If other players in other countries can't get away with this behavior, why should he?
Re: Donovan Obviously you understand nothing about US politics, which is incredibly jingoistic by nature. Haven't you been noticing that Bush does what he wants and tells the rest the world to get over it? Let's take advantage of the prevailing mood. I could care less about LD's contract, and "not fulfilling his end". And I further don't give a flying %$#@ about international obligations blah blah blah. Yeah right, like FIFA is a sterling organization that stands for truth and everything good in the world. The truth is that they're hopelessly corrupt. But I do care about MLS, and I see an opportunity for them to take advantage of the current political climate and get some much-needed publicity. It's especially promising since Germany is not held in the highest regard right now by a large portion of the US public. Screw the contract. Screw Leverkusen. Let's raise a ruckus!
This particular baby jesus quote can't be posted enough on bigsoccer: Source: http://www.pe.com/sports/soccer/stories/PE_SP_nmlsbar24.57d66.html This one line needs to be beaten into several skulls with a sledgehammer. I can't recall all the numerous times that I've heard about poor lil' Landin' going through hazing in Leverkusen. To all the aforementioned idiots: you stand corrected.
No, not really. You and I both probably violate half a dozen laws on our way to work every morning. In our country, the law has been turned into a game, not unlike poker or chess. People seem to observe the law when it benefits them and violate it when it gets in the way. And that's just the criminal law. What we're talking about here is civil law which I respect even less. This is all about money. Do you really think that morals and money can be mentioned in the same sentence any place in the world right now? If you do, then I'd like to sell you my old Enron stock.
      The big mistake in this latest article (which is a mistaken notion held by many on BigSoccer) is that Donovan's loan to MLS from Bayer Leverkusen was for two years, which was then extended for two more years after Donovan "refused" to return "the first time".       The truth is that the contract between MLS and Bayer Leverkusen was for four years, with an option for BL to recall Donovan in the 2002-2003 MLS offseason (i.e. after the first two years) if they'd so wished. Slighty before that offseason, though, Donovan's agent Richard Motzkin informed BL that his client would prefer to stay in MLS for the full length of the contract. After some discussions, Bayer Leverkusen decided not to utilize that option.       Under the original contract, Donovan stays with MLS until January 1, 2005. No extensions or accomodations by BL (other than not utilizing the aforementioned option) were ever made up to this point. -G
Or maybe it would be reported as "US player forced to honor the terms of the contract that he signed in good faith."
Hmmmm. Didn't Saha have a contract "which he signed in good faith" with Fulham. Then Sir Alex announced he wanted the player and Fulham were forced to take the offer. Chelsea used the same gambit tp get Parker from Charlton. This trick is played time and again by big clubs to get players from smaller clubs. Is that a different morality than Landon Donovan's? (Except in this case, the tables would be turned on the big club.) Is there any morality in soccer whatsoever? Or is it simply that you want Landon in Europe and don't care if he wants to play there or not.