A few hours after MLS announced via conference call that USMNT forward Eddie Johnson had agreed to contract terms, the league's website had removed the article. On Wednesday, it become clear why: The 27-year-old forward has apparently had second thoughts and now wants more money to play in MLS.
According to the Steven Goff of the Washington Post, the deal is now "unlikely" to happen after Johnson balked at a three-year deal that would have started off with a pro-rated year of $175,000 and gone up to $275,000 by 2013. Also according to Goff, only one MLS team had expressed a willingness to pay even that salary.
Johnson, who is currently out of contract, can continue to look for a new deal in Europe and could theoretically have second-thoughts and return to MLS by the Sept. 15 roster-freeze deadline. Perhaps fueling his thinking are reports that one of his former clubs, Greece's Aris, is interested in bringing him back.