MLS still pursuing Argentina's Riquelme

Whether the rumors have any substance or not, the simple fact that there are stories swirling around in foreign climes about big-name players possibly leaving to join Major League Soccer is a positive sign for the league.

The latest rumor to surface was Tuesday when Telam, Argentina's official news agency, reported that MLS had made an offer of $15 million to attacking midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme to head north.

Considering that Riquelme is only 29, is still an influential figure on Argentina's national team, will be going to Beijing to take part in the Olympic Games, and is in fine form with Boca Juniors, the chances of him coming to MLS any time soon would seem to be slight.

Similarly, if Riquelme plays for Argentina in its June 8 friendly against the U.S. at Giants Stadium, all it will take for him to reject any move is one look at the dreadful, patched-up, threadbare, NFL-logoed carpet that passes for a soccer field at the Meadowlands.

On the other hand, the fact that MLS still is pursuing the former South American player of the year and three-time Copa Libertadores winner after earlier being rejected, speaks well of the direction in which the league is headed.

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Looking at the reverse direction -- players leaving the U.S. to chase careers abroad -- the trend is undeniably growing, as evidenced by the roster that U.S. under-20 national team Coach ThomasRongen selected for a tournament starting next week in Portugal.

Six of the teenagers are from MLS, including the Chivas USA midfield pair of Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayen, while six others already are with clubs in Europe, including the Hertha Berlin trio of defender Alfredo Morales, midfielder Bryan Arguez and forward Ellis McLoughlin.

The U.S. plays Northern Ireland, the Cape Verde Islands and Portugal in the April 13-19 event.

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Now that MLS salaries have again been made public -- thanks to the players and their union -- here are a couple of numbers: The average MLS player earns $117,299, but the median salary is still only $55,000.

It's all very well for David Beckham to be raking in $6.5-million because he earns that much and more back in a variety of ways for the Galaxy, but there are 75 developmental players taking home only $12,900 or $17,700.

Let's see, $15 million for Riquelme divided by 75 is . . . $40,000 more for each of those players for the next five years.

Just a thought.

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Liverpool's two North American owners, George Gillett and TomHicks, were on opposite sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday, not surprising considering the bad blood between them.

Canada's Gillett was at Anfield, understandably enthralled by Liverpool's dramatic come-from-behind victory over Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Hicks was in Texas, watching a Rangers baseball game. One more reason why Liverpool fans likely will pour more scorn on the man they already loathe.

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Still in Texas, FC Dallas and former UCLA standout Alex Yi, a teammate of Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley on the U.S. team that finished fourth at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand in 1999, on Tuesday announced his retirement.

Yi, 26, has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons and told the club that he was going to return to school. Yi left UCLA as a sophomore to sign with Royal Antwerp in Belgium, then returned to the U.S. in 2005 to join Dallas.

A starter on the U.S. team at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Argentina in 2001, Yi also played for the under-23 national team. A nagging hamstring injury that was never resolved limited him to 27 MLS appearances.

Because Dallas considered him worth only $33,000 a year, the former Bruin's decision is more than understandable.

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Someone else whose MLS career might have a very short trajectory is Canadian midfielder Kevin Harmse, who was cut by the Galaxy because of his propensity for picking up yellow and red cards.

Harmse apparently has not learned. He started for Toronto FC against D.C. United over the weekend and, 22 minutes into the match, lunged in with yet another crude and clumsy tackle, this time on D.C.'s Gonzalo Peralta, and was immediately ejected.

The career line on Harmse: 19 games played, one goal, six yellow cards, two red cards.