TORONTO — Dwayne de Rosario spoke to media on Wednesday for the first time since he returned from a training stint with Scottish giants Celtic, and the Toronto FC midfielder made it clear he wants to move forward after sorting out the details of his contract.
“It’s not settled – no, I’m not,” he said. “But, that’s between me and the club.”
De Rosario trained with Celtic from Dec. 26 to Jan 18. However, Toronto said he started the trial without informing them or arranging the proper paperwork.
“I didn’t think that there was any confusion until I saw a press release,” he said. “But the past is the past. I’ve moved on.”
The club confirmed that they turned down a request from Celtic to extend De Rosario’s stay in Scotland until March. New TFC director of player personnel Paul Mariner said the club and De Rosario were meeting this week to talk about his contract.
De Rosario said that he has not backed off his demand to be paid a Designated Player salary and that he does not regret how he handled himself during the recent impasse.
The TFC captain made headlines last season when he celebrated a goal against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 25 by writing an imaginary check on his hand, a gesture he later admitted was in reference to his contract with TFC.
“If you write, you write with passion,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I play with passion. Sometimes you express that passion in different ways.”
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