Jozy Altidore’s rocky time with the New England Revolution is over.
The Revolution announced Thursday that they had bought out the former USMNT striker’s contract, ending an unproductive stint at Gillette Stadium roughly a year and a half before it was due to expire.
“The New England Revolution have released forward Jozy Altidore and exercised the club’s one buyout on the player’s salary budget charge. Altidore will no longer occupy a spot on New England’s roster,” read a short statement from the club announcing the move.
Per salary information released by the MLS Players Association, Altidore’s 2023 guaranteed salary was $2,939,963. That figure is the highest salary for any USMNT-eligible player in the league.
An unhappy time with New England
Altidore’s arrival via MLS free agency in 2022 initially saw the Revolution enthusiastic enough about the target man that they extended the contract he signed with Toronto FC through the end of the 2024 season.
However, things quickly went awry. Altidore was competing with two Designated Players, Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou, for minutes while Bruce Arena often deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. While Altidore had a goal to his name by the third game of their 2022 campaign, he never managed to push his way into a starting role.
That goal would prove to be his only strike for the Revolution that season, and while he was a frequently-used substitute, he ended up securing a half-season loan to Puebla in Liga MX. There, things didn’t go much better: Altidore appeared in just six of Puebla’s 12 league matches (scoring twice) and was an unused substitute in all three of their playoff games.
Altidore returned to MLS for the 2023 season, but his situation remained unchanged. Altidore appeared in 10 of New England’s 17 regular season games, but scored just one goal in a paltry 195 minutes played.
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