Dwayne De Rosario is still not a DP. One year removed from the contract dispute that ultimately forced his move out of Toronto, the man from the mean streets of Malvern is still looking for the symbolism and respect that the DP status brings.
He says it’s not about the money. It’s possible he’s telling the truth as his $500,000 salary in 2011 equalled that of some of the lower paid DPs already. And with a MVP award now on the books, combined with his two playoff MVP awards, it is hard to argue that point.
If Mustapha Jarju can be a DP, why shouldn’t DeRo?
Or, to put it in a way that DeRo might, if Julian de Guzman can be a DP...
Putting aside how much de Guzman is underrated by many in the TFC community, you can understand how it would irk De Rosario to make four times less the money that his national team teammate does.
As always the problem remains the same. DC United understand DeRo is a valuable player, but they are reluctant to hang the DP label on him. They already have two and adding a third would require the club to spend a $250,000 luxury tax on top of the money they are giving DeRo.
So, United is doing the same thing that Toronto tried to do – it’s attempting to piece together enough allocation to give him a raise, but so he remains under a standard contract.
Publically, both sides say that negotiations are going well. Maybe that’s true. They must be going better than they were in Toronto because DeRo hasn’t gone on any unauthorized Scottish adventures this year. He didn’t hide his displeasure with Toronto, but one wonders how much longer he’s going to remain happy in DC.
History tells us not long.
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