Freddy Adu has spoken out about his contract situation with Philadelphia Union, saying he has been frozen out because he refuses to take a pay cut.
The 23-year old forward is under contract with the Union until the end of the 2014 MLS season but the club do not want to pay him more than $170,000 a year which they are obliged to under the Designated Player salary cap rules.
Adu, who earns around $520,000 a year, indicated to ESPN's Alexi Lalas that he is not prepared to take a pay cut but insists he wants to continue playing MLS whether it be in Philly or elsewhere.
"The entire situation saddens me. While I have made mistakes and am trying to learn from them, a lot of what is said about me is not accurate. The truth is that I have been frozen out by the Philadelphia Union solely because I refuse to take a huge pay cut," he told Lalas on the weekend.
"I am prepared to honor my contract with the Union, or any other club in MLS and I don't think what has to happen to me is right...
"All I want to do now is play soccer and try to progress my career. But I will stay strong in my position and hope that I can be back out on an MLS field soon."
The Union are treating the Adu situation with caution as they do not want to buy out his contract as that would cost them $1.3million according to The Goalkeeper blog at Philly News.
