Weston McKennie’s summer began with the U.S. men’s national team midfielder set for a move away from Juventus, but plans have flipped to him committing his future to the club.
McKennie signed a one-year contract extension with Juventus through the 2025-26 season, the club announced Friday. His new deal will keep him in Turin until June 2026 while McKennie’s salary will remain the same at €2.5 million per season, according to reports.
The American midfielder was named to Thiago Motta’s opening night roster on Monday, but did not feature in a 3-0 Bianconeri win over Como. Fellow American Tim Weah scored his first-career Serie A goal but left the match at halftime with a hamstring injury.
McKennie, 25, was a key player for Juventus last season, en route to a Coppa Italia triumph in May. He registered a career-high 10 assists in 37 combined appearances for Juventus, winning the third trophy of his club career.
After originally breaking into Europe with then-Bundesliga side Schalke, McKennie has accumulated 134 appearances for the Old Lady, scoring 13 goals and adding 15 assists.
Juventus will resume its league season with a trip to Hellas Verona on Monday.
midwest ref
“But Juve seems to do this every year with Weston. Hopefully he finds this season to be a good fit with the new manager,”
That says more about Weston than it says anything about Juve. When he first broke through at Schalke what was remarkable about him was how he played every position but keeper. That says a lot of positive things about him but usually as time goes on a player eventually narrows their focus. Weston was very valuable to Pirlo and then Allegri but it took a bit to win him over and the new guy certainly might not see things the same way as Allegri and Pirlo eventually did.
It’s just the nature of the beast that a player like that has to continually prove themselves especially to new bosses. It will be good practice for when Weston has to prove himself to Pochettino.
more lame player-blame. they pulled crap. then they signed a contract on the eve of the deadline. does that sound to you like a player issue or like contract leverage? exactly. thanks.
also, as someone who played all over the field, and would tell his Next Coach about it, some coaches take the bait, some have definite ideas. my HS played me in 1 spot the whole time (wingback) vs. my select and college moved me around. i can’t force them to throw me in as a wing or DM, or use me as emergency keeper, or whatnot.
and all due respect to the pro-juve brass folks on here but they don’t seem to notice that after the match fixing issues, there was a period of success when CR was there, and then they went back to marginal european team after. people act like every well funded team that barely makes europe are geniuses because they are top 4-6 in their tough league. even as the team cycles through coaches and bounces between UCL and europa. ok, whatever.
that being said, i personally see his youthful versatility as a curse, as he is kind of a jack of all trades, master of none, sort of athlete who isn’t dominant in any one role. people like him but can’t quite say at what role. at the best soccer teams it’s horses for courses. they ignore the social media pouts about the potential limits of haaland’s technical ability and cash in their 9 goals and trophies.
eg for the USA the deal is weston isn’t quite fish or fowl, reyna is a better 10, adams is a better 6. i think we could use backs, wings, but does he fit a role there any better?
last, people forget schalke stunk back then and it was kind of a sideshow to move him around everywhere. most good squads don’t operate on “come see where he plays this week” premises.
All the comments here think Juve has done him so dirty. There’s another side to this story. And the fact Weston hasn’t been able to secure and transfer should perhaps tell the story.
I’m guessing McKennie had an over inflated opinion of himself and got called on it. Between his various acts of unprofessionalism, being more than once out of shape and being simply more often than not unproductive while at Juventus, put together with his infamous time at Leeds and then his invisibility at the Copa, why would anyone pay him more after one singular “good” season of 7 assists in Serie A. How does that body of work deserve a raise? Obviously no one ponied up for what he and/or Juventus wanted. It’s great to stand up for our guys but him and Reyna barely have a leg to stand on to demand anything. They both need a serving of humble pie as far as I’m concerned.
By signing an extension Weston has given himself an opportunity to show the suitors who didn’t pull the trigger that he is worth the transfer fee and wage demands. Showing two years of consistent play, keeping his nose clean and body in shape (although not sure he actually did that through the end of last season) will go a long ways towards proving he and his dad’s opinion of him being an elite professional soccer player is accurate. Otherwise enjoy your Europa Conference or Leagues Cup career.
They signed Mckennie for one more year in order to profit from selling him…….that all. Why does he have to go through is year after year especially having proved himself playing for Juve????
First, he encountered this nonsense coming back from leeds:
“The USMNT star’s situation is reminiscent to what he faced last summer, when he returned from a loan at Leeds only to find himself an outcast.
“I didn’t have my locker, I didn’t have a room in the hotel, I didn’t have a parking space,” McKennie said in an interview with The Athletic.
“I couldn’t even get my shirt number (14), even though nobody else had taken the number. I was like, ‘OK you guys want to treat me like this? I’m just going to show you on the field.’”
He overcame that….NOW HE HAS TO DEAL WITH THIAGO MOTTA’S SUTLE PUT-DOWNS…..I think he should leave and go somewhere they need him.
“McKennie is a useful and functional player for our needs,” …….what the F#@&??? WHEN HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A COACH SAY A PLAYER IS “USEFUL”??? WHAT????
Earlier, Motta also made the comment that every player left out for a friendly against Brest — including McKennie — was not in his plans moving forward. He said:
“We have been very clear with them,” Motta said on August 4. “They are talented but must find other options where they will get more playing time. For Chiesa and the others, the decision has been made.”
Now all of a sudden, BECAUSE THEY GOT HIM OR KNEW HE WAS GOING TO SIGN, he is somehow valuable again to the team as a player??? They are using this kid and depleting his years he should be using for growth, development and improvement……..smh
As I pointed out before, Dempsey had to regain his starting job for most of his time at Fulham. A lot of US players, such as Pulisic, have to prove themselves over again all the time. This is not limited to Americans, but it has seemed in the past that they often lacked the respect given to others. Wes can and will just work harder and prove his worth. Even if Juventus were to dump him, there are plenty of good European clubs that would be willing to give him an important role. I wouldn’t worry about it.
there is a difference between a player like dempsey at FFC or pulisic at CFC having to reprove himself to a new regime, and being frozen out. this is akin to the time FFC had dempsey working out with the youth teams. it ended in the spurs move. it took a few years to repair what should have been a mcbride-type relationship with a longtime servant. i mean dempsey had the infamous no angle chip on juve when they beat them on the way to being runnersup to atleti in europa league’s final. those are like the peak FFC years and they crapped on that to play mind games.
i think one reason i balk at all the transfer action is i prize a little loyalty. but that’s a two way street. if you don’t want him around do it transparently. if you want him out, just say it.
side point but i think it’s beyond obnoxious for teams to demand an extension to leave or even go on loan.
and if i remember right, FFC had dempsey training on the kids’ field because he demanded a transfer they didn’t want. saying we can make you stay — a deal is a deal — while hardball and undoing the relationship, is at least somewhat transparent and fair compared to demanding extensions from players you don’t even want. that’s your contract doesn’t even mean what it says, you want to leave it’s gonna last til ’26.
bizzy,
If you know people who are going through a divorce, did you ever notice that often everyone involved tries to get you to buy their take on things?
Unless you have a personal relationship with Weston or with Motta, all we really know is what the various media outlets and Juve and Weston’s people are saying about their individual take on things.
You can’t trust any of them.
A lot of people here say Weston had a great year but the only person whose opinion matters, the current big boss, doesn’t agree. Weston didn’t get a raise but he does have a chance to show Juve, and/or those so-called interested buyers who never showed up, that he’s worth giving a chance to. He’s not out on the street having to hustle for a job, any job. And if you think that isn’t big deal you’re very foolish. Now, in familiar surroundings he gets one more season to prep for:
1. Winning more permanent place
2. An eventual transfer
2. The World Cup.
Yes, he’s basically kicked the can down the road for another year but things could be a lot worse. Hopefully he’ll pay attention to the loud alarms that are blaring at him telling him he needs to tighten up his act. It’s all up to him now.
all due respect to kicking cans but last i saw reyna was still kicking his can at dortmund a year later. artificially pumping up transfer or loan value by adding years can mean it takes that much longer to unwind. i can see teams saying if this is designed to make me pay $25m for a $20m player i will wait til he burns enough contract you price him back correctly.
if i played decently well like mckennie did, and this was my reward, they want me back but they play vicious games, this isn’t home, sell me. or if this is the price of his exit, you play chicken. i’m not signing this and you don’t want me around. double dog dare you to carry me for a year instead of transfer me out. i think they blink. reyna would be either gone or have one year to go if he’d just said no. boy am i glad he traded another year for that fun time at forest.
With all due respect to McKennie and others, people need to put things in perspective. Wes has already made more money from playing a game than the vast majority of people will make in 40 years of work. Dempsey did even better. Poor guy had to accept a mere $6 million per year when he joined the Seattle Sounders. Professional athletes are gifted athletes who are paid exorbitant amounts for playing games. Many are spoiled and feel entitled (read about how most English Premier League players are treated). In the future, their work will not have had any real effect on society or humanity. Because of the skewed values of modern society, people are not rewarded according to the value they contribute. In a just world, doctors and others who similarly contribute would be better rewarded than athletes. I find it hard to mourn for a player who maybe is being mistreated by a boss who doesn’t value him enough. Guess what, that happens all the time in all fields of work, only most people aren’t making $2.5 million per year. Nor could the average person easily find a another position paying close to the same amount elsewhere with little effort. 30 years ago, I was a manager trying to improve our operations. Because of budget constraints, for about 6 months to meet a temporary need, I worked half of my time in a warehouse lifting and moving heavy boxes while still doing my regular job. 20 years later, my back went out and now I have restricted mobility. My upper management pretty much ignored the extra work I did and I got no reward or recognition for my extra work. I accepted that although I’m not too happy with my bad back. Life is unfair. Get used to it.
IV,
Talk is cheap. Easy for you to be a tough guy when someone else is going to pay the price.
Gary,
“Professional athletes are gifted athletes who are paid exorbitant amounts for playing games. ”
They make that money because their “games” generate enormous amounts of it. People pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch Tom Cruse drive motorcycles off of cliffs. He gets exorbitant amounts of money to do that because his films generate a huge amount of money.
When you think about how much money is generated by pro soccer there’s an argument to be made that a guy like Weston is underpaid. So if he wants to argue the point, I’m not going to stand in his way.
Gary,
“Professional athletes are gifted athletes who are paid exorbitant amounts for playing games. ”
They make that money because their “games” generate enormous amounts of it. People pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch Tom Cruse drive motorcycles off of cliffs. He gets exorbitant amounts of money to do that because his films generate a huge amount of money.
When you think about how much money is generated by pro soccer there’s an argument to be made that a guy like Weston is underpaid. So if he wants to argue the point, I’m not going to stand in his way.
Useful and functional…his new nickname is Thomas the Train. If/when he scores this year he needs to drop the Harry Potter wand celly for a pulling the train horn. Useful indeed.
I love it! American players are not respected, nothing new to see here. Motta already has set him up to be a fall guy imho.
Motta…he did a nice job at Bologna last year, we’ll see how he handles much higher expectations.
on his handling of Wes, che schifo, sempre qualcosa di merda da dire di Wes. Sempre lo stesso, tutti questi allenatori di europa…arroganti.
I have not understood the negotiating strategies of Serie A teams for some time now. The bravado tactics of freezing out players only seems to reduce the appeal of the player to other clubs when the current team should be trying to accentuate the benefit. Maybe this is a tactic that goes back to the time when Serie A was the highest paying league (decades ago) and they wanted to motivate the player. But Juve seems to do this every year with Weston. Hopefully he finds this season to be a good fit with the new manager, as it was last season where everyone shares the opinion that Weston had a great year.