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In an interview with The RSL Show, Sebastian Saucedo spoke out about his frustrations with his time at Real Salt Lake while expressing a desire to stay in the city, should the right money and playing time materialize.
During the interview, Saucedo says his next step will depend on his agent’s negotiations. With the Olympics coming up next year, and with playing time being somewhat difficult for him to come by, he’s looking for a place where he knows he’ll be earning playing time.
The interview starts right around the 58th minute, and it’s worth listening instead of reading highlights. Still, some highlights:
The last few years for me have been so frustrating for me. I feel like I’d get that little candy, then they’d take that little candy away from me. I feel like I start at times and I do well and I score goals, and then I get benched all of a sudden. It’s been so frustrating, because exactly what happened last year, happened this year.
Saucedo insists that he’s not predestined to leave Real Salt Lake:
Maybe my Instagram posts caused a little bit of noise. Yeah, there could be teams interested, but I can guarantee my agent’s looking out for what’s best for myself. If he thinks, he knows that it’s here, then it’s here. He’s the one that has all that information.
On who he is as a player:
I’m that type of player — to drag attention, to draw fouls, to get him a yellow card early, to make him tackle me, to make him on his toes. There are always going to be better teams in MLS — I definitely think we’re one of the best teams in the MLS — but there are definitely going to be teams that outplay us when we’re at our worst. At the end of the day, when we’re at our best, I feel like I can give that little spark, give that magic, do flicks and tricks. I want to have fun, and I want to enjoy it. In general, we just have to play and enjoy and be free.
On if he wants to stay in Salt Lake:
A lot of fans need to understand: I’m from here, my family’s here. My wife’s family’s here, my wife’s from here. Everyone’s here. I would love to stay here, but at the end of the day, if I don’t feel like I’m going to start, or if I feel like I’m not going to give myself a shot at being a starter, I have important things coming up, like the Olympics. I have important things coming up like the national team.
On young American players:
This is my second contract, and you have to also look at money. A lot of European players, a lot of South American players come to MLS. Why? To get money. They know they’re going to play. That’s kind of tough on us young American players. There definitely are a lot of things to think about.
On not getting more minutes:
At the end of the year, against Seattle, I took a week, I got with my agent, we looked at video — I was telling him, “damn, did I really let go of such a big year for me?” Against Toronto, I felt like I was at the peak of my game. Against Atlanta, I was at the peak of my game. Against Dallas, it’s obviously not going to be easy to go away from home; we tied, we didn’t lose. I get benched, and it’s tough, because there are other players, that even if we tie, win or lose, they still play. That’s frustrating for me. At the end of the day, I’m not a young, promising player like when I was 17 years old, this is reality. I’m on a contract.