Waibel, Hansen explain RSL’s interest in Landon Donovan, state of talks

Real Salt Lake’s interest in Landon Donovan doesn’t seem to have waned, even though rumors have seen it as equally dead and alive.

After yesterday’s press conference introducing incoming midfielder Albert Rusnák to the club, RSL general manager Craig Waibel confirmed that the club’s interest in Donovan continues, but there are plenty of decisions remaining.

Video of the comments are available from RSL’s TV affiliate, KUTV.

“I’ve been having conversations with him, and really, a lot of it’s going to come down to Landon,” he told reporters. “It’s going to come down to where does he want to play, is it the exact fit? He’s not a man that has to keep playing.”

He’s a talented player, he’s got a lot to offer the game still. We’re definitely interested, but at the same time, there are so many things that go into this, just like every deal, it’s family fit, it’s financial fit, it’s all the different things. There’s a lot of decisions that still need to be made and conversations to be had.

To our conversations, I think he’s driven by the fact that he wants to give something back at this point. I think he’s driven by the fact that he still has something to give, but he also has a lot to give back. He’s kind of at that point where he understands that it’s a small window where you both have something to offer and offer back to the young boys.

Dell Loy Hansen also added his two cents — as he is wont to do.

Obviously, if you can attract a player like Landon Donovan to your club, we’d love it. But terms are always elusive, agent’s goals are elusive, and the league’s objectives need to be met. They have a CBA they have to manage, and his contract is somewhat problematic from the year prior. It all creates something that we’re dreaming about, we’re working on, but we’ll just see how it plays out.