Darren O'Dea has left Toronto FC to join Ukrainian club Metallurg Donetsk.
The 26-year old former Celtic and Leeds United defender, who was earning the most money in MLS outside Designated Players, was sold by TFC to clear some space in their salary cap.
O'Dea, who has been one of Toronto's most consistent performers this season, said via his agent that he had no hard feelings towards the Canadian club.
"He loved Toronto. He thought Toronto was a great place. He thought the fans were fantastic and he really liked it there," agent Kevin Moran told The Canadian Press.
"But he totally understood the club situation and he totally understood where (head coach) Ryan Nelsen was coming from when they talked about not being able to renew the contract at the same terms and he would have had to take a big, big cut."
Moran added: "He would love no better place to go back to than Toronto, if that was feasible. But that's an awful long way away. That's how much he loves Toronto.
"In a perfect world, O'Dea would have loved to stay in Toronto - on the money he was on."
