The New England Revolution waited until nearly the last minute, but in the end, the Lee Nguyen saga has finally ended.
At around midnight on Tuesday, the Revolution traded the unsettled playmaker to new expansion team LAFC in exchange for $700,000 in allocation money—$350,000 in General Allocation Money and $350,000 in Targeted Allocation Money. The amount could potentially rise to $950,000 total and include either LAFC’s 2019 or 2020 first round draft pick based on conditions to be determined.
Revolution general manager Michael Burns expressed his gratitude for Nguyen’s years of service to the club on.
“On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank Lee for his years of service,” Burns told revolutionsoccer.net. “Every decision is made in the best interest of the club, and we feel this move helps strengthen our team now and puts us in the best position to succeed in years to come.”
The 31-year-old made a name for himself in his six years with the Revolution as one of the best attacking midfielders in the league. Since joining the club in 2012, Nguyen played in 191 games, earned 185 starts, scored 51 goals, and added 49 assists. He departs New England as the second highest scorer and assists provider in Revolution history.
This trade marks the end of a saga that began in January when reports surfaced that Nguyen requested a move away from the club. He failed to show up to most of the Revolution’s preseason training and did not feature in any of the Revolution’s eight games to open the 2018 campaign.
Correction 5/1/18: A previous version of this article stated the incorrect amount of money that the Revolution received for Nguyen. It has been corrected to say $700,000.
