Arena says Revolution blackmailed Galaxy over Lletget

The LA Galaxy officially acquired midfielder Sebastian Lletget on May 8, but head coach Bruce Arena isn't happy with the process used to place the US youth international.

Lletget was a discovery player for the New England Revolution, which forced the Galaxy into negotiations. The Galaxy ultimately agreed to send $50,000 worth of allocation money to the Revolution in exchange for Lletget's rights. Arena has since reflected on the deal negatively as he believes that the Revs had no intention of signing Lletget.

"Discovery lists should be that you're pursuing a player and have interest in a player. You're discovering them because you want to sign them," Arena told LAGalaxy.com.

Lletget, 22, has been on Arena's radar since the team had him in camp in Ireland. It took some time for Lletget to land in Los Angeles, however, due to negotiations between the league, Galaxy, and Revolution.. The whole ordeal has left a sour taste in Arena's mouth, especially when it comes to the discovery lists.

"Teams in the league have attempted to use the rule as much as possible to hold back players from other teams," Arena said. "Now it just becomes a sped up blackmail job. Now you get the player, but eventually, you have to pay money for it."