With the summer transfer window open, and the Red Bulls having just lost two players – and on the verge of losing a third – it begs the question of just how much money they cleared to spend on replacements.
The answer? Like the Millennials’ Facebook relationship status: It’s complicated.
Defender Heath Pearce has opted for season-ending hip surgery, expected to be sidelined for about eight months. The club and midfielder Juninho mutually agreed to terminate the Brazilian’s contract so he could return home. And little-used defender Digao – the brother of Brazilian superstar Kaka – is still on the roster but is on the verge of being let go, a move first reported by Big Apple Soccer this weekend.
How much precious cap space will be cleared up by these moves? According to a highly-placed source, the Red Bulls will get the entire pro-rated portion of Juninho’s $200,000 annual salary since his one-year contract was mutually terminated. That’s a solid chunk of change with which to go searching for a replacement.
Pearce was making a base salary of $331,236 according to figures from the MLS Players Union, and $340,736 guaranteed. The team won’t get a penny of cap relief, although it should be pointed out that his former team, Chivas USA, was already paying a big chunk of his salary.
As for Digao – whose brother Kaka is no longer in the Red Bulls’ plans, a story broken by the Post five days ago – that situation is the least clear, and probably lies somewhere in the middle. The source said the Red Bulls and the Brazilian defender – whom cynics would imply is less vital to the club now that it’s moved on from his more famous sibling – “are still negotiating.”
It is ironic that three days after the Post stated that the Red Bulls’ pursuit of Kaka was dead, Big Apple Soccer reported that the club was expected to part ways with Digao. If and when the latter’s contract is terminated, the club will receive some relief from his $200,000 salary. Exactly how much is unclear, with the source saying “It’s complicated.’’
Of course. It wouldn’t be Metro if it weren’t.