United States

USMNT's Miles Robinson explains why he chose Cincinnati over Europe

Updated Jan. 13, 2024 6:11 p.m. ET

It's a question that has flummoxed USMNT fans since Miles Robinson signed with FC Cincinnati on Jan. 3: Why would a regular, in-his-prime starter under coach Gregg Berhalter choose to stay in MLS after playing out his contract with Atlanta United instead of moving on a free transfer to a European club?

Who better to answer it than Robinson himself. Speaking to FOX Sports from the national team's January camp in Florida, the 26-year-old center back — who was on track to play a major role for the Americans at the 2022 FIFA World Cup before a ruptured Achilles tendon ruled him out of soccer's marquee competition — explained his reasoning. In short, joining the reigning MLS Supporters Shield winners on a two-year deal worth more than $1.65 million per season made the most sense for several different reasons.

Atlanta didn't want to lose one of the league's best defenders, offering him a four-year pact two years ago for the same salary — the MLS maximum for non-designated players. But Robinson was intent on leaving after seven years in Georgia's capital. He preferred to play on grass, for starters, rather than the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which some believe may have contributed to the injury that cost him a World Cup trip.

"I really wanted to make some kind of change on and off the field," he said. "Over the course of last season, I talked to a lot of people, just trying to seek advice from any and everyone."

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Among those was Berhalter who, with the 2024 Copa América now just months away, impressed on Robinson the importance of playing regularly wherever he ended up.

There was no guarantee of that overseas. Moving to a European club in the middle of their season is never easy. Besides having to break into an established lineup, there's usually a major adjustment period off the field. It took U.S. striker Ricardo Pepi almost a full year to find his feet across the pond after leaving FC Dallas in early 2022. Another American, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, never settled at all, returning to MLS this month after a disappointing year at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch powerhouse Robinson was linked to throughout the fall, is the runaway Eredivisie leader and will meet German titan Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 next month. Getting minutes there would've been hard at first — not that things ever got that far. A source told FOX Sports that PSV, where former U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart serves as the director of football — made it known that it wasn't willing to pay Robinson much more than the $550,000 minimum for players from outside the European Union. That rendered any move there a non-starter.

"There wasn't anything completely formal," Robinson said when asked if PSV made his camp an offer. "I never spoke to Earnie."

"I didn't want to get a pay cut going overseas," added Robinson, who earned $1.4 million in Atlanta in 2023. "As I learned, injuries can happen and you could be out for a year-plus. So the finances were definitely something I took into consideration while making this decision."

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Besides, staying in MLS won't necessarily hurt his standing with the national team — even with Robinson competing against Premier League-ers like Tim Ream and Chris Richards. Where his players are employed isn't the deciding factor for Berhalter. Robinson was a lock during 2022 World Cup qualifying. Fellow MLS veteran Walker Zimmerman started all but one match at the main event in Qatar ahead of Cameron Carter-Vickers, an annual Champions League participant.

On a Zoom call with reporters last week, Berhalter said he and his staff would continue to assess Robinson "the same we do every other player."

"When you're in camp with players from every league and you show what you can do," Robinson said, "Those moments are very important."

That's not to suggest that Robinson has shut the door on playing in Europe for good. The agreement he signed in Cincinnati is for just one season with a club option for a second. If Robinson can shut down the likes of Argentina's Lionel Messi, Brazil's Vini Jr. and Uruguay's Darwin Núñez at the Copa América, foreign clubs are certain to take notice.

"I definitely have Premier League aspirations," Robinson said. "A one-plus-one [contract] could set me up for the future in terms of my earnings and where I want to go. Betting on myself is definitely something I'm willing to do at this point in my career, especially in a place where I think I can really stand out and help an already-great club take that next step."

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.