After he turned down two lucrative offers to return to Minnesota United, 2019 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Vito Mannone has joined Esbjerg fB in Denmark's top league on loan for the rest of the season.
After turning down MNUFC, goalkeeper Vito Mannone loaned to Danish team
MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Vito Mannone joins, on loan, a team in Denmark's top division after he turned down two offers the Loons said would have made him their league's highest paid at his position.
January 31, 2020 at 5:38PM
Mannone was loaned to an Esbjerg club that currently is 13th in the 14-team Danish league. The deal involved the same Reading team in England's second division that loaned him to Minnesota United last season.
After the Loons lost in the MLS playoffs to the L.A. Galaxy, Mannone said he wanted to take his time and consider all options, from returning to Minnesota to making a homecoming back in Italy in its top Serie A division.
He declined two United offers over the off-season that Loons technical director Mark Watson said would have made Mannone, 31, the MLS' highest-paid goalkeeper.
United then acquired 26-year-old Tyler Miller in a trade with LAFC and signed him to a new contract that's just a portion of what the team offered Mannone, who turns 32 in March.
Atlanta's Brad Guzan made $740,000 in total compensation last season.
A former Premier League keeper with Arsenal and Sunderland, Mannone's contract with Reading expires this summer.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
