Toronto FC president Bill Manning said he has cleared the air with Jozy Altidore after the star striker said that Manning should “put his ego aside” following a match last week.
Altidore called out Manning after Toronto’s 4-3 win over Minnesota United on Friday, expressing his dissatisfaction over the offseason dismissal of team trainer Giuseppe Gueli. Altidore had exited that game with a hamstring injury.
Manning said in a news conference on Monday that Altidore “didn’t have all the information” and that the club is in the process of bringing back Gueli.
“Now, I think he sees what I was working on, and we’re both in a good place. We’re moving forward in terms of Giuseppe’s role with the club,” said Manning, who added that Altidore is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with the injury.
Altidore posted an apology on Twitter on Monday, saying: “I want to apologize to Bill Manning and the Toronto FC organization for my comments following Friday’s match. I let my emotions get the best of me when speaking to the media after our wild comeback win over Minnesota.
“Bill and I connected this morning and I can confidently say we’re on the same page.”
Altidore spoke to reporters after Friday’s game saying that he was faced with a “game of egos” and that Gueli’s termination was due to former MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco‘s acrimonious exit from Toronto FC this winter.
“Well, we had a trainer here the last three years that’s been helping me with muscle injuries, but because he was attached to Seba [Giovinco], he’s not allowed at the club, which I think is ridiculous,” Altidore said. “And so now this is what I’m faced with — games of egos and that [kind of] thing. Hopefully [Manning] can put his ego aside and I can get the guy that’s kept me healthy, kept Michael [Bradley] healthy, kept a bunch of the guys healthy, and we can make things move forward.”