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The latest twist in the Carlos Valdés saga came yesterday when the Colombian defender broke his silence on Argentine radio. In an interview with AM 950 Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Valdés reaffirmed that he had not been paid in six months, saying that "either MLS, San Lorenzo, or my agent is lying" about payments. This marks the first time Valdés had brought his agency into the line of fire. It wasn't clear whether he was referring to Efraín Pachón, who is usually regarded as his agent, or Ricardo Pachón, who is Efraín's brother and partner in Eurodata SA Marketing Sportivo e Culturale - the agency who represents Valdés. It is of note that Efraín Pachón Sr. - currently chariman of Eurodata - was president of Independiente Santa Fe (Valdés club prior to being brought to he Philadelphia Union as well as the club he was loaned out to in 2013) from 1985-1990, was Vice-President of the Colombian Football Federation from 1990-94, and then was president of Cúcuta Deportivo (another Colombian club) between 1995-2004. Requests to interview Pachón have not been returned.
Valdés said that while his priority is to get to MLS, he did say "Then I can be loaned out to other teams." There was no elaboration on what that meant, however it does lend weight to Juan Arango's tweets about Valdés possibly going to Millonarios - one of Colombia's best known clubs.
Carlos Valdés, Macnelly Torres, Amaranto Perea, Leandro Gracian, Ruidiaz... have been in Millonarios radar. #DOOP 1/3
- Juan Arango (@JuanG_Arango) July 22, 2014
Valdés contract with MLS is set to expire at the end of 2015, according to this article by Kerith Gabriel of philadelphiaunion.com, so it's not out of the question that Valdés could come back to be loaned out again.
Valdés also wished San Lorenzo well in their Copa Libertadores match against Bolivar, saying the following:
Carlos Valdés: "San Lorenzo se merece ganar la Copa Libertadores porque es grande, por su gente y por mis ex compañeros"
- Noticias San Lorenzo (@locuracuervaa) July 22, 2014
(Carlos Valdés: "San Lorenzo deserves to win the Copa Libertadores because of its stature, for the people and for my ex-teammates.)
Again, the question has to be asked "Why would San Lorenzo send a payment to MLS instead of to the player?" I have never heard of a team that is paying a loan fee to a club (like San Lorenzo did to MLS) paying the club the player's salary and expecting the club to then turn around and pay the player. In every case I've ever heard about, the club who pays the loan fee also pays the salary of the player.
The question must also be asked "Where will Valdés play his next match?" Signs originally pointed to Philadelphia, however him saying he wanted to be loaned out again makes sense. Jose Pekerman (Colombian National Team manager) has said repeatedly that he considers MLS an inferior league, and that he would prefer his players stay either in Europe or South America. Therefore it would not surprise me to see Valdés either sold or loaned to a club like Millonarios. While the Union would certainly welcome Valdés back with open arms, it seems like his future may lie elsewhere.