“sour and mentally devastated” | MLS professional Gressel’s Bayern dream shattered – FUSSBALL INTERNATIONAL

Indeed, Thursday night must have been a big dream come true for German MLS professional Julian Gressel (28): A test match with DC United against FC Bayern Munich.

A big deal for every footballer, but for Gressel, a self-styled Bayern fan, it would have been a step too much.

But a few days ago his dream broke. Without warning, Neustadt an der Aisch’s native Franconian was transferred from his team in Washington DC to the Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada!

“I’m really angry and mentally depressed,” the midfielder told The Athletic. He was not even able to personally tell his wife Casey that in the future he would have to kick the ball about 3800 km as the crow flies from their home in Washington. Since DC United made the “business” public shortly after speaking to Gresel, he found out about it over the phone from a friend.

Gressel could not defend himself against the transfer. In the American trading system, players rarely have the ability to choose where to play.

However, Gressel didn’t like the way. “Your whole world will be turned upside down. I feel no respect for what I have done for the club,” he told The Athletic.

General Manager Lucy Rushton simply told him, “You’re no longer a DC United player, you’re a Vancouver Whitecaps player.” The $900,000 offer from Canadians was very tempting. Meanwhile, the new coach, England legend Wayne Rooney (36), simply blushed and said he was not a big fan of “trading”.

When DC lost 6-2 to Bayern, Gressel was already gone. “I was really looking forward to the game, but that’s what happens sometimes in sports,” he said in an interview Bayern Munich website, Anyway, he wanted to watch sports on TV.