There's been an impressive amount of speculation being spoken with an authoritative tone that falls apart pretty quickly under basic logic; 1- Gio isn't playing because he's physically cooked; Why did Kovac start him twice (at the end of February and beginning of March) when he had other options and if you think his physical decline happened after that point, why did he give Gio sub appearances in March, April and May (i.e. until the end of the season)? Dortmund were under pressure to pretty much win out the last few months of the season to quality for this seasons ECL, if they thought Gio was done they wouldn't have put him on the field even if only for a few minutes. And since we are entertaining rampant speculation if Dortmund think that he is physically done then why didn't they make any of the deals that were rumored in the last transfer window just to get him off the books. Instead they were rumored to be holding out for €15-18 million. If they thought he was done they would've taken whatever they could've gotten to at least save themselves ~€4 million in wages between the second half of last season and this coming season. 2- Why isn't Gio playing at the CWC or if Dortmund weren't planning on using him why wasn't he released for the Gold Cup?; The CWC is basically taking up nearly all the time that the European clubs would normally use for preseason. For the Dortmund manager, due to having come in midway through last season, this is his first preseason with the team. He needs to use this time to drill his first team on how he wants to play so they are ready for the season. He's not going to prioritize minutes for fringe players. Re: The Gold Cup, Firstly we don't know if Poch would've called Gio in even if he was available. Due to Gio getting injured on national team duty (again) last September the only camp Poch has had him was in March and he didn't exactly speak glowingly of Gio. It seems to me that Poch has made Tillman the starter and I don't think he's going to be inclined to play Reyna unless he is getting at least near starter minutes at his club. Secondly having Gio play in the Gold Cup does not serve Dortmund's needs at all; As I posted several pages ago Gio has gotten injured on USMNT duty with alarming regularity and sorry but playing against CONCACRAP doesn't increase his value at all. From the perspective of top European leagues every side in CONCACRAP is bad and playing well against them means nothing. Look back a couple years ago when Gio was scoring and assisting against Canada and Mexico and it didn't increase playing time nor lead to transfer offers. The reality is that clubs in top European leagues would rather any of our guys on their teams retire from national team duty. 3- Why isn't there any transfer buzz about Gio; We're talking about a player who has hardy played the last four seasons, even when he was largely healthy the last three seasons. I would expect that he is kind of down the list and we might not hear anything until August as teams who failed to get their main targets start looking at other options. Also you have to consider Dortmund. While they've said they would like him to find another club they are also known for being really greedy and trying to squeeze every last pfennig out of a deal. They struck out on Cherki and apparently Chelsea aren't willing to give them Chukwuemeka for cheap. Dortmund might just sit tight until the end of the transfer window and if they cannot get a big enough fee for Reyna they may decide it's worth it just to keep him as cheap (he doesn't make too much by Dortmund's standards and of course he doesn't cost a transfer fee) depth for the upcoming season.
They were relegated to the Regionalliga. But hey, that was good enough for Julian Green to make a World Cup roster.
I’m ordinarily a “don’t walk way from a contract” guy….but keep in mind he’s only got a year left at that salary….plus he’s been making that for a while. The longer he waits….the smaller his next contract gets with whomever will give him a shot.
Seems a lot comes down to his options and how own assessment of fitness. If Gio really wants a shot at this WC and believes he can play his way in to the team, he needs to play. If Gio is fully fit and believes he able to recreate the form that played him onto the team last time, is he willing to take a personal, say 1.7 - 2 mill hit for that gamble (figure a year of salary, plus some appearance and USMNT money would easily add up to 750k-1 mill.) Seems a reasonable gamble. A good WC run likely pays a bit in future earnings, endorsements etc. On the other hand, if he's not fully fit, or is not confident he can get back to WC ability in a year, or believes he couldn't convince Poch taking the money and working towards a good transfer is an easier, safer choice.
I think he's confident he's fit (maybe not match fit, but healthy fit) and capable to be WC ability. But he's not fully fit because he's not match fit. Because he doesn't play matches. He needs to play.
This was more in reference to the various suggestion here that he and BVB are actually hiding injury/loss of form. I really got no opinion or info on that, but it were true it changes the calculus, is basically what I was getting at.
They are. That's what telling a player he has no future and is free to leave, then briefing the press accordingly - in the spring - means. They can't offload Gio until a) someone agrees to take him and b) he agrees to go. Until then, he's their player and they're contracted to pay his salary so they may as well bring him to the CWC and see if he can contribute something, anything, to their campaign. The back end of the summer window is when with everyone staring at another 12 months of high-cost limbo, the "you're free to go" players finally move on. A €1-1.3m "by mutual consent" offer is very likely from BVB so the real issue would be Gio's response: if he refuses, it means there are no offers from good clubs or that he prioritizes income over development. That would be a very bad move. A player who settles for a third consecutive season on the bench over fighting for his place at a decent club - let alone a World Cup place - is not going to get better offers next summer. If, say, Ajax were willing to offer him a 2 years-with-option deal at €1.5 million today if he's on a free, he might struggle to get half that from AZ next summer. If he stays, it's because he's Joe Gyau (crocked physically) or Fredy Adu (crocked mentally)
Normally, I'd agree with you 100 percent. But Gio's case is unique because he's an American. Even if he spends another year on the bench, we know some MLS club will back a small truck of money up to this house so I don't think the normal rules apply. Now does setting on the bench another year get him to another WC? Probably not. BUT if he were to move to MLS and start regularly he'd probably get another look ahead of the WC.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Especially the last point. Another season at BVB will cost them 2.7 million in salary, with no transfer fee, agent's fees, time and nerves spent on the phione, etc. A replacement on the same salary who's not likely to be a starter but good enough for spot minutes and some cameos off the bench will cost them 10-15 million in transfer fees. Why spend that, unless you think the guy could be sold for +25 million in 2 years. A lack of interesting prospects could see him kept on but it's not in his interests. He needs a club where he fits and wants to make him their starter him and move on.
No, but there are BVB II's purpose for existing "rules" that prevent him from playing there. The top clubs field II teams to develop U-23 prospects into first-team players. The over-23 players have maxed out on their development and are there as on-field coaches who lead by example and carry weight because of their maturity. Putting a player whose attitude is even 1% less than exemplary into the U-23 squad would be pure malpractice.
Summarizing now : Vampire says he is not physically cooked - ok will go that for now (that he is not) ... if he is not cooked then he is physically able to compete in training ... Vampire says he was not physically released from CWC because they might need him for a few minutes ... if he is not cooked then I can see this ... regardless of him not seeing anything so far at CWC Vampire and Irish both say that there is no buzz because of what has transpired over the last 4 years ... I will go with all of that as given ... so if he is not going to go to the reserves (because they don't want even a slight attitude problem down there) .... that is even more damning all things considered because he is physically well but mentally not (a bad attitude which is showing in training - coach said he has a big roster and sees them all in training). All things considered - this is horribly bad - and why (if he is not cooked) that very few teams will give him a look and none will match his wages and help to offload him. If I were Poch I am sure I would not even want him with the squad .... either the ute has an attitude problem or he has a physical problem ... he has shown the talent in the past ... I think we can all agree to that. He is not getting injured now because he is not playing, and he has not been injured in training recently. For those that say he has played recently - it has been cameo minutes with games already won and minimal intensity of play. Seems like BVB are looking at $2.7M in expenses and just have a guy parked on a bench who is an example of how not to be a professional. Ok.
IDK, I'm a little doubtful. It's been a decade and a half since MB, CD, and JA were given dump trucks of cash to move back to MLS. For reference, when Steffen moved away from City back to MLS, he took a hefty pay-cut... he was ALLEGEDLY on almost $3m/yr at City, and now makes $900k/yr. And that was with a free transfer! I concede that $900k/yr is a lot for an American goal keeper in MLS - he's the 2nd highest paid keeper in the league - but from a pure money standpoint, he had to take a BIG hit to play in MLS. For the most part, the best paid Yanks in MLS are "lifers": Zimmerman, Ferreira, Morris, Arriola, etc (we will ignore Gioacchini). All of this is to say: Welcome to the Colorado Rapids, Gio Reyna! Enjoy a salary of like $800k-ish a year!
The idea that he's not moving on because he knows his next contract will be smaller, and because Dortmund wouldn't mind keeping him around to keep from having to invest more to replace his (paltry) minutes is intriguing. If he doesn't move this summer, he's officially Just Milking It™
Agreed, and it would certainly add fuel to the fire for the growing theory that he may be completely shot.
Agreed, he’d be pulling a Bobby Wood early in his career. If he doesn’t want to be sold cause of the $, then he’s better off going on loan some place where he’s needed.
There has been some talk on social media that Gio isn't willing to take a paycut, but I think that may be recycling news from when he got loaned to Forest when there were reports that Forest were willing to pay his full salary during the loan. I would not be shocked if Gio's salary COULD cause issues with a move cause for the teams who'd be interested that's a high salary for what would be a low risk gamble but it's so early for transfers it's all speculation now
True about MLS having changed but there might have been an opening for that after Qatar, where his was OK on a pretty meh team and he could have been marketed as an impact signing based on that and what he showed in his breakthrough season. That boat has sailed and I struggle to see an MLS side, certainly a good one, being interested in him now.
Probably not at a DP level at least (just because of how little he's played) I do think him doing something similar to what Under did with LAFC or Lewis O'Brien has done with LAFC and DC United where it's a half season loan I think would have been beneficial for Gio. I do think Gio will be fine and will have a rebound season of sorts, but I do think it may be a level drop that may be more than people expect
does Claudio still work for Autin FC? Would not be shocked to see Gio go there, if we are thinking MLS is a next stop. Of course, I know I am ignoring all the MLS rules/discovery rights stuff, etc, so not sure it would happen
He'd left Austin entirely by mid-April last year. Which is good for Gio because if his dad was still there and he didn't shine, you could expect to see his mom's going off the rails being resurrected. A lot. Nep baby, only there because of his connections, etc. Not a good scene for him
It would be foolish for Gio to take a pay cut. Gio's problem is not stunted development from being in the wrong place, I don't even think that it's he's lazy. It's that he's slow, most likely from injuries. How fast he goes isn't going to change based on where or even whether he plays. Unless you're going to transform him into a center back or keeper, there's just no position where his speed is consistent with playing at an elite level in today's game. If he gets his speed back somehow, the sky would still be the limit for him. In the absence of that, this may be his last chance to make real money before he has to switch careers.