Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Soccer-wise, most Europe ports of call remain ahead of the United States when it comes to high-level know-how. In some places, it’s not even close.

But in media trust-worthiness, the United States gets the big check mark. Most of the time, it’s not even close.

(Jurgen Klinsmann always laughs when someone asks about media criticism in the United States, about whether it bothers him. He generally says something like, “I played and coached in Europe, where they just make things up about you!”)

So take it with heaping helpings of the proverbial salt, but this report in a Spanish daily says Mexican star Giovani dos Santos has rejected a $2.5 million annual salary and a $10 million transfer price to play for the Galaxy.

The salary does not sound wildly out of line. At that price the young attacker would be well behind the Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and Tim Cahill in the ranking of highest paid MLS men. Heck, he wouldn’t even be the second highest paid kicker around the LA Galaxy; Landon Donovan makes roughly the same each year.

But that $10 million transfer price seems a little fishy given Major League Soccer’s aversion to such splashy deals. Transfer fees are happening more and more around MLS. (For incoming players, that is; fairly significant deals for outgoing MLS men have been common for years.)

Still, that’s a lot to AEG scratch for a young guy who spent a lot of time being unsettled in his club situation before finally finding some stability last year at Spain’s Mallorca.

The Galaxy still have David Beckham’s Designated Player slot to fill and would love to have a showpiece name added to this year’s roster by summer transfer season’s conclusion.