On Thursday afternoon, Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales will hold a press conference, following a post on Twitter a week earlier implying that his time with the club had ended. Thursday morning, RSL General Manager Craig Waibel met with the media to discuss the announcement earlier in the week that the club will retain Head Coach Jeff Cassar for the 2017 season and, naturally, the press conference shifted attention at one point toward the club icon and his potential departure.
Waibel has not at any point ruled out Morales returning with the Claret-and-Cobalt for an 11th season, but noted that in his meetings last week, the conversation never reached a point of discussing contract details or roles on the roster.
“You will never hear me say a bad word about Javi. I have an amazing amount of respect for him and everything he’s done for the organization,” Waibel said this morning. “I think there’s still some conversations that could be had. This is a legend of our club and someone that should be honored and we will do everything in our power to honor him the right way according to what his wishes are and the next steps for him.”
Pressed further on the matter, Waibel reiterated that the door had not been shut on Morales for RSL.
“I don’t think that decision’s been made final yet. I think Javi’s a class act. I think Javi will let us know today what his intentions are and we will fully support whatever they are,” Waibel said. “I think the conversations last week, as you’d expect, were pretty emotional. They were very difficult conversations in terms of a potential role. Now we wait with the respect and admiration that we have for Javi for his decision and then we go from there.”
Morales came to Real Salt Lake midway through the 2007 season and went on to earn club MVP honors in 2008, 2010 and 2015, totaling 49 goals and 81 assists in 240 regular season appearances over 10 seasons. Across all competitions, he has 59 goals and 97 assists in 294 matches, contributing to two MLS Cup Final appearances – winning in 2009 – and one appearance each in the CONCACAF Champions League final and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
“As an organization, you honor players as best you can if they are indeed on their way out and then you go and find the next one for your fans to fall in love with,” Waibel said.
