Carlos Ruiz, High Salaries & Aftershocks

[SoccerPrime]

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006

By Ridge Mahoney
Senior Editor
Soccer America

Soccer America's MLS CONFIDENTIAL is a benefit for Soccer America members. It is published twice a week.


RUIZ REDUX. Negotiations continue between MLS and agent Richard Motzkin and his client Carlos Ruiz, whose contract with MLS has expired but his deal with Guatemalan club Municipal continues.

"As he's a proven goalscorer there are teams in Mexico and Europe who are interested in Carlos," said Motzkin. "He's also said he'd like to stay in MLS and those discussions continue. But because Municipal is involved it's a little more complicated than your typical situation."

Motzkin said Ruiz is in Guatemala and the pair speaks almost every day. Ruiz is reportedly seeking a salary comparable to that of teammate Eddie Johnson, who signed a new deal last year for a $750,000 base. When asked if such a sum would rule out a return to FC Dallas because of salary-cap restrictions, Motzin replied, "That wouldn't be an issue."

NEW NUMBERS. MLS has taken a small step to mitigate objections from teams regarding Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan, whose salaries exceed the official maximum salary ($285,000 last season) by far greater margins than any player signed in the past two seasons. They object that those players give their teams an unfair competitive advantage, yet with the league tabling any plans to waive its salary-cap rules for one marquee player per team the issue is clouded.

Many foreign players -- Alain Sutter, Lothar Matthaeus, Roberto Donadoni to name a few -- earned more than the maximum salary in past seasons but didn't count for anything extra against the cap.

Francisco Palencia of CD Chivas USA is supposedly going to earn nearly $1 million this season and if the team signs Claudio Suarez he would command a high salary as well.

According to a team source, Johnson and Donovan will count against the cap at a figure of $330,000. The cap is projected to be $1.91 million this season, a slight increase from last year. What isn't known is if this figure will be used for all players who earn more than $330,000 or only for very high-salaried players. Josh Wolff, Eddie Pope and Ramon Ramirez all earn a base salary more than that figure.

[prk166]

I don't understand the deal Carlos has with that club. It's like they signed him for life.