United States men’s national team (USMNT) and Major League Soccer (MLS) legend Landon Donovan has lambasted an MLS side for releasing one of their former stars in the off-season. But why is the six-time MLS Cup winner enraged about the recent transfer decision?
Landon Donovan Blasts MLS Club After ‘Fireable’ Error
Speaking on the ‘Unfiltered Soccer’ podcast, Donovan singled out Nashville forward Cristian Espinoza for praise before slamming the San Jose Earthquakes for allowing him to depart.
“Cristian Espinoza, I think he is one of the most underrated in the league. He was with the Earthquakes for a long time… he went to Nashville as a free agent. Very interesting there. And by the way, the story with San Jose is wild,” Donovan, who played for Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Everton, and Los Angeles Galaxy, stated.
Donovan, who also represented San Jose Earthquakes for four years, continued, “I want to stress this… this was not (head coach) Bruce Arena who did this, but someone who was running the technical side before, literally just forgot that they had to trigger his option, or at least trigger the option to trigger the option. And so, all of a sudden, he became a free agent. I mean this, you talk about fireable offenses, like this is unacceptable.”
The USMNT great, who registered 145 goals and 109 assists in 340 MLS games, concluded, “And so, he became a free agent, and I know they tried hard to keep him and re-sign him, but in the end, he said, ‘All right, well, I guess you didn’t want me, so I’m going to go to Nashville’, and this makes Nashville really good, cause he’s a really good player.”
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Espinoza, 30, cemented himself as a key first-team starter at San Jose Earthquakes during his seven-year stint, scoring 39 goals and providing 70 assists in 236 overall matches. The Argentine winger has been named an MLS All-Star twice, in 2023 and 2025.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Earthquakes also allowed Venezuelan attacker Josef Martinez to leave as a free agent alongside Espinoza in the past month. However, they are reportedly set to fill the void left by Martinez and Espinoza with the signing of Germany forward Timo Werner.
According to ESPN, the San Jose Earthquakes are close to luring Werner away from RB Leipzig, a Bundesliga side, to their ranks this month. While a deal is yet to be completed, the team is expected to register the ex-Chelsea and VfB Stuttgart star as a Designated Player.
