The LA Galaxy were not the only team involved in the Sacha Kljestan sweepstakes.
FC Dallas president Dan Hunt revealed in his weekly Facebook chat on Friday that his team made a play for the US international midfielder, who is currently under contract with Belgian side Anderlecht but was heavily tipped for a return to MLS during the summer international transfer window, which closed on August 6.
"We went through the proper protocol and processes with the league to bring Sacha Kljestan to FC Dallas," Hunt said. "We had the space to add him but the league was not able to come to a long-term contract agreement with him.
"I know that the guys at the league office worked extremely hard to make this happen in conjunction with Sacha and his agent Richard Motzkin. Unfortunately it didn't work out this time, but there is always the January window."
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A league spokesperson confirmed to MLSsoccer.com that the league had indeed attempted to negotiate a long term deal with Kljestan, but that the talks were unsuccessful.
Earlier in the week, all signs pointed to the LA Galaxy signing Kljestan, and Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena admitted Thursday that the team was "close" to signing a player, but that "there were just forces in the league that prevented us from doing this."
Kljestan, 28, is currently entering his fifth season with Anderlecht, where he has participated in the UEFA Champions League and collected three league titles. Prior to his time in Europe, he played four-and-a-half seasons for Chivas USA after being taken fifth overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, and was a 2008 MLS Best XI honoree.
