Lions lose Pérez García as deal can’t be reached
Orlando City lost one of its key attacking players on Wednesday.
Midfielder Matías Pérez García announced on his Instagram account that he and the club could not reach a new contract agreement after extensive negotiations.
His contract was set to expire June 30, the same day Orlando City travels to play Real Salt Lake. The club instead waived Pérez García, opening an international-roster spot that will be filled by defender Léo Pereira, who was on loan with Orlando City B, ahead of the match.
“We tried our best to reach an agreement with Matías but unfortunately we weren’t able to,” Lions general manager Niki Budalic said in a statement released by the club. “I want to thank Matías for his contributions to our Club. He is a tremendous teammate and person. We wish him the best of luck moving forward.”
Pérez García, 32, spoke about the imminent end of his contract after a standout performance in the Lions’ 3-3 draw with Montreal on June 17. He scored his first goal for the club and had an assist in that match.
At the time, he said he hoped to come to an agreement with the club. Budalic and coach Jason Kreis echoed that sentiment days later but also noted the two parties were very far apart in what they wanted and replacement options were being considered.
Pérez García’s post announcing negotiations stalled read in Spanish, “Finally we do not reach an agreement and today it's me saying goodbye to Orlando. I want to thank everyone for the love received, to my teammates for the moments and coaching staff, thank you very much to all and now expect whatever comes will surely be the best!!”
Moving into the opened international roster spot is Pereira, a defender who was acquired on loan from Orlando City B on April 14. He was then sent back to OCB last week to open an international roster spot for Richie Laryea. Both Pereira and Laryea are on loan with Right of Recall to OCB for the season, which allows free movement between the two rosters in compliance with MLS roster regulations.
Last week Kreis called the situation “extremely odd,” adding he never before had a player whose contract was up in the middle of the season.
“It’s been a personally frustrating experience for him because he’s expressed his intent clearly that he wants to stay and we’ve been pretty, pretty far away from what he has said he’s needed and what we have available to pay,” Kreis said at the time. “I think it will ultimately come down to whether or not we can get the number and the contract status that will cement it for him and be in a place that he can be happy.” That never happened. Salary figures released by the MLS Players Union in April showed Pérez García making a guaranteed salary of $260,004, about $10,000 more than his reported salary at the beginning of 2016.
Occasionally when international players sign an MLS contract, they prefer to end their contracts in the middle of the MLS season to give them more options overseas during the summer — when most international teams are not in season — should their MLS contracts not be renewed or extended.
Orlando City traded defensive midfielder Darwin Cerén and salary budget space to the San Jose Earthquakes for Pérez García with less than eight hours left in the 2016 summer transfer window. Pérez García was the first player selected and signed by Kreis after he was hired by Orlando City.
He made 21 starts in 28 appearances for the Lions.
San Jose signed Pérez García as a designated player on July 31, 2014. Previously, he played for Club Atlético Tigre in the Argentine Primera División, and he won the 2011 First Division title in Chile with Universidad de Chile. He also made appearances for Argentina's under-17 and under-20 national teams.