Lee Nguyen broke his silence since his offseason request for a trade and subsequent decision to hold out of New England Revolution camp, telling Paul Tenorio at ESPN FC that he’s paid his dues with the Revs and wants a different challenge at this point in his career.
MLSsoccer.com was first to report that Nguyen, 31, asked New England for a trade shortly after the end of the 2017 season. The attacking midfielder recorded 11 goals and 15 assists in 2017 and ranks fifth in MLS over the past four years with 82 combined goals and assists.
New England head coach Brad Friedel told MLSsoccer.com last week that the club won't trade Nguyen, a stance GM Mike Burns reiterated after Nguyen failed to show for the first day of Revs preseason earlier this week.
“I hope things can work out in a manner that benefits everyone,” Nguyen told Tenorio. “I’ve paid my dues and it gets harder and harder to watch so many players on the Revs and in MLS get rewarded year after year, despite not performing anywhere close to what I have done.”
For more of Nguyen’s comments, check out Tenorio’s full story on ESPN FC.