How much is Major League Soccer’s best assist man worth?
About $750,000.
DC United paid Atlanta United that fee in allocation money for the rights to Julian Gressel, who had been at a contract impasse with the club who drafted him in 2017.
That fee could hit $1.1 million in incentives, and even so could be a bargain.
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Gressel was due to make around $133,000 this season and wanted an improved deal from Atlanta given his massive production since becoming the eighth overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.
That salary is less than hundreds of players, most of them nowhere near Gressel’s impact. Nineteen Atlanta United players made more than him last season, so it’s understandable that the 26-year-old wanted to get paid.
We don’t know what he was asking, or why Atlanta wouldn’t get there. From MLSSoccer.com:
It’s a weird one, given what the club’s been paying others.
Gressel arrived at Providence College from Eintracht Bamberg and immediately started delivering for the Big East side. He finished his four years with 30 goals and 26 assists and All-American status.
There was some adapting to MLS, but he’s gotten better with every season. He scored 10 goals with 13 assists in all competitions last season.
— Julian Gressel (@JulianGressel) January 21, 2020
