Martin Rogers of Yahoo! is reporting that Landon Donovan attracted some European interest during this summer's (now closed) transfer window, and his preferred destination of Everton made a late play. That in itself isn't shocking; Donovan played well enough at Everton during his loan stint and during the World Cup that it makes sense the league/Galaxy received a few nibbles. How much was offered, Rogers doesn't say. What he does say is that MLS valued Donovan at $16 million.
Is that an insane amount of money for a club to pay for a 28-year old midfielder in Donovan's class? Absolutely. Without a doubt. There's no arguing that the MLS valuation borders on the ridiculous, and in a tight transfer market where all but a few insanely rich clubs sat it out or acted frugally, an offer on that level for Donovan simply wasn't going to come.
But I fail to see this as a problem, as some do, because the number cannot be taken at face value. The price tag only reinforces what the league said all along: they didn't want to sell Donovan. Setting the price so high was nothing more than a ploy to scare teams away; in the end, it didn't keep teams from bidding anyway, as they surely hoped MLS would back down at some point. That the league, or the Galaxy, or whoever made the final call didn't is hardly surprising considering Donovan's status in MLS and the goal LA has of winning a title. The situation is only complicated by the overriding sense that Donovan should/needs to/wants to go back to England and the MLS history of valuing players beyond what the market will bear.
I just can't criticize MLS for holding on to their most valuable commodity, nor do I see the price as outrageous in the context that the league would prefer to keep Donovan and it was going to take a massive offer to pry him away.
Donovan could still make a move in January, when I'm sure his price will come down due to the simple fact that MLS will not be in-season and the midfielder will not be in the midst of trying to help his team win a championship.
