The Columbus Crew is attempting to sign former New England Revolution striker Pat Noonan, who has 12 caps with the U.S. men's national team. The way Major League Soccer does its business, however, is preventing this deal from happening.When Noonan's contract expired after the 2007 MLS season, the Revolution offered Noonan a new deal at a lower salary and told him to take it or leave it. He left it, signing instead with Aalesunds FK in Norway.
The way MLS player contracts are set up, however, Noonan is not a free agent within the league. All player contracts are with the league, not the club, and players are allocated to certain clubs. Because it made Noonan that lowball contract offer, New England still has the allocation rights to Noonan within MLS.
The Crew has said it is willing to pay Noonan more than what he made with the Revs, pay the transfer fee to Aalesunds and compensate the Revs according to MLS rules. The response from MLS and the Revs? "Get bent."
