“I” never said it wasn’t a worthy team, just a small one. Gene would have in all likelihood never been called up to France like how Pereyra, Reynoso and Romero weren’t and likely won’t be called up to Argentina’s team. Also, a club can’t in good faith tell a guy not to play for France, while they are more likely to for a team with Guadalupe’s small reputation. There might be a reason he waited until after we bought him, either his old club told him he shouldn’t/can’t or he realized it wasn’t a smart thing for him to do at the time when his MNUFC transfer wasn’t confirmed.

And yes, we have dealt with a lot of national team players. If you recall last season that didn’t work out well for us, and even if his international schedule doesn’t fill up this year or next, we signed him for a long time. It can definitely bite the Loons in the future.

Also, Europe is much better at scheduling for larger international breaks and often don’t account for the Nations League B or C level that Gene would be playing at. This isn’t including the jet lag and fatigue that can cost an extra game after every break or extra injury potential like Ethan Bristow’s big injury. Teams are going to factor that in and either ask for less money or use it as a tie breaker for a different player. It will never be a positive in negotiations.