Report: Moreno Deal in Jeopardy

Updated: February 7, 2012, 11:01pm ET

It looks like Pepe Moreno may not be in a rush to play – or practice – in a Revolution uniform anytime soon.

Five days after New England announced that it had reached a loan agreement with Colombian side Once Caldas to bring the 30-year-old striker to Gillette Stadium, a report surfaced on Tuesday surfaced that the deal is off.

In speaking with LigaPostonbon.com, the official website of Categoría Primera A (Colombia’s First Division), Moreno hinted that the return of fellow striker Dayro Moreno to Once Caldas on Feb. 1 has tempted him to remain with the Manizales-based team rather than play in MLS.

“Yes, Dayro encouraged me to stay and fight to achieve the title to half of year,” Moreno told the website, according to a web-based translation service. Photos of the duo training together earlier this week with Once Caldas have been published on the team’s official website, and recent reader comments have suggested a possible Once Caldas starting eleven involving both strikers.

The report also mentioned that although Moreno received an attractive offer to play in MLS, the prospect of “shining” with Once Caldas for the balance of the Colombian season was too strong to resist.

Although Moreno has not yet been officially added to New England’s roster as he awaits approval of his P-1 Visa and International Training Certificate, a Revolution spokesperson told New England Soccer Today Tuesday night that the team is “surprised” by the report.

According to the spokesperson, the Colombian goalscorer signed his contract and loan documents last week and that the P-1 Visa and ITC processes have already started.

The Revolution have reached out to Moreno’s representatives for clarification on the report.

One Comment

1. 

   Chris B

   February 7, 2012 at 9:35 pm

   This Supporters Summit just got interesting! I definitely expect clarification tomorrow on this. It seems to me there is just red tape issues here. Moreno was talking about “half of year”. Maybe he wasn’t aware Revs loan starts as soon as he gets Visa/ITC. If this is Moreno backing out, the Revs could’ve done more to make sure he was committed, but this may have not been preventable, this is perhaps just as big a shock to the team as it is to the fans. I really don’t want to jump to conclusions until tomorrow however.

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