Donovan shuts door on Europe for good

LOS ANGELES – Landon Donovan looks certain to finish his career in Major League Soccer after announcing he will not go back to English Premier League side Everton on loan in the new year.

Everton head coach David Moyes repeatedly tried to reach an agreement with Donovan and the Los Angeles Galaxy similar to the one which saw the 28-year-old embark upon a highly successful loan stint in early 2010.

On the open market, Landon Donovan is realistically worth $8 million to $10 million.
(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

However, Donovan revealed on Tuesday that he is going to rest instead, following a hectic year in which he scored three goals in the World Cup and helped the Galaxy to the Western Conference final.

“While I enjoyed my time at Everton last season … I feel that it is important to continue to rest and recover this offseason as opposed to going on loan,” said Donovan in a statement released by the Galaxy. “I never considered being loaned to a club other than Everton, but I have been playing nearly non-stop for the past two years and I believe that this decision will allow me to perform at my best for the Galaxy and the national team throughout the upcoming year.”

The statement was brief, to the point, and intriguingly timed – what with Galaxy colleague David Beckham still hoping to secure a temporary loan to a European team and L.A. digging their heels in.

And, beneath it all, lay what is now the extreme likelihood that Donovan will never ply his trade full-time in one of the biggest leagues in the world. Despite being widely considered the best American player in history, things never fell right for him to become fully established in Europe, even to the extent of a Clint Dempsey or Brian McBride before him.

Now the clock may have run out on that scenario altogether.

Donovan’s stock in the eyes of European teams will never be higher than it is now, for several reasons. One is that his efforts for Everton proved – despite a stint that lasted only 10 games – that he has the skill and mentality to play in the EPL, arguably the toughest domestic league of them all.

Another is that the World Cup is the greatest shop window in soccer, and Donovan’s achievements in South Africa are still fresh in the memory. Then there is the fact that there is limited talent available to European clubs in the January transfer window, a time when MLS is in hiatus but teams across the Atlantic are looking to set themselves up for the back end of the campaign.

Now that he is not going on loan there is nothing more Donovan can do to impress the European soccer scene. However well he plays in MLS, or for the national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it won't carry the gravitas of a World Cup or a loan stint.

It is in many ways unfortunate that the place Donovan fit best, the only club apart from L.A. where he could truly feel at home, was one which doesn’t have the financial resources to even pay the going rate for him, let alone a higher premium.

Everton’s spending is tightly monitored and despite constant speculation that they would try to sign him permanently at the end of his loan spell, they were out of the frame even before Donovan’s World Cup display pushed his transfer figure up past $15 million.

Realistically, the only team still in the hunt at that point was Manchester City, whose interest Yahoo! Sports revealed during the World Cup. City head coach Roberto Mancini later admitted he had been keen to sign Donovan, but instead opted to pursue other targets.

Part of the problem for those American fans who would love to see Donovan tested against some of the world’s best players every week – instead of once every four years – is that his value to MLS is so great. On the open market he is realistically worth around $8 million to $10 million, but the Galaxy would only have considered offers significantly higher because of the extra marketing and sponsorship spinoffs he brings.

Donovan has been happy to adopt the role of hometown hero and has been a fine ambassador for the Galaxy. During his ill-fated marriage to actress Bianca Kajlich, overseas opportunities which would have forced him to relocate from California didn’t seem so attractive.

When the summer transfer window closed this year the only way Donovan was going to move on would have been to excel even more on loan this coming January and convince someone to cough up big money. But it is not to be.

And, in a year, even the opportunity of a loan might not even be there, let alone anything else.

This boat has sailed and Donovan seems happy with his choice, far more so than fans of the national team. He is in America, in MLS, for good.

He had a superb year, and 2010 has given him countless memories which he will always cherish. At the end of his career, though, Donovan may have the nagging regret that he didn’t fully test himself. January was his final chance to fix that, a chance that is now gone.