Supporters and fans:
Thank you for your continued patience as we work through the situation with Jose Moreno.
Both myself and the club have received numerous questions about the situation in the last 48 hours, and I wanted to offer a longer explanation than 140 characters or a Facebook post could relay since we understand that it seems like radio silence from us on the matter.
Like many of you also heard or read, we got reports from Colombia on Tuesday afternoon that quotes attributed to Jose had been published on their league’s website saying he had chosen to remain with Once Caldas instead of reporting to our team.
These reports surprised us because last week, Michael Burns traveled to Colombia and met personally with Jose and Once Caldas executives to sign the necessary paperwork to complete the loan deal. At that time, Jose signed his MLS contract, and both Jose and Once Caldas officials signed the loan agreement. With everything signed, we announced his signing last Wednesday once MLS received all of the documentation and approved the announcement.
On top of a signed contract and loan agreement being on file, Jose’s Visa approval and ITC transfer have already been initiated, as well.
This deal with Jose and Once Caldas was borne out of three separate trips to Colombia where our folks watched Jose play and met with him for several hours to discuss the move. Once the paperwork was signed last week, we believed he was on his way to joining us later this month for the end of preseason camp.
The biggest reason for the lack of a resolution or response on this issue has been our desire to speak to Jose directly about the reports. In the last day-and-a-half, we have not been able to connect with Jose, and right now that is our highest priority.
We still don’t know with certainty that the quotes attributed to him were in fact his, so if they are, we need to understand what he’s dealing with and where his feelings are coming from before we proceed and find some resolution on the matter.
Thank you again for your concern about Jose, and when we are able to provide a further update, we will.
Brian Bilello
