EXCLUSIVE: Entering a contract year, TFC captain Michael Bradley ‘hopes to be here for a long time’

2022 is an important year for many players on Toronto FC, but for Michael Bradley, this upcoming season holds a slightly greater significance.

At the end of this year, the 34-year-old TFC captain will be out of contract for just the second time since joining the Reds in 2014. At the end of the 2019 season, he signed an extension, committing three more years to the club.

Speaking to Bradley on Thursday at the BMO Training Ground, he said that he hasn’t put much thought into his upcoming negotiation and long-term future at the club but remained confident that there would be a resolution.

“I’m not sure it’s fair to anyone to at this point be thinking about anything beyond this year. My sole focus is on trying to help us become a really good team – to play a big part in that – on the field and off the field,” Bradley told The Parleh.

“If we can do that and get things going in a direction that I believe we will, my personal situation and my contract will be the last thing that anyone – anyone – needs to worry about. There will always be a solution that works for everybody and that works for certainly the club in a good way.”

Ranked second in Toronto FC history with 258 all-time appearances, Bradley left money on the table in 2020 to re-up with the Reds, signing a three-year Targeted Allocation Money contract when many believed he was worth Designated Player money. The skipper took a lesser salary for the better of the team, making $1.5 million in guaranteed compensation in each of the last two seasons.

And once again, money won’t be the motivator in these future discussions.

“Money’s never been the biggest thing for me in my career – never,” said Bradley. “People snickered when I said that when I first came, but it was the truth, and maybe a few of those people realized along the way that I was being 100 per cent honest about that.

“Money will ever be the driving factor for anything for me.”

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Negotiations will look quite different this time around for the former U.S. international. For one, he’s now 34-years-old, turning 35 in July, and Bradley understands what the market is like for someone his age, acknowledging that ‘a lot of clubs don’t even give contracts longer than one year’ for players over 30 years old.

But another is because at the other end of the negotiating table will be his father, Bob Bradley, who was appointed Head Coach and Sporting Director this offseason.

Like Michael Bradley, Bob Bradley hasn’t put much thought into his son’s potential new deal but remains assured that the TFC captain’s long-term future will be in Toronto.

“Right now, it’s just the work every day of trying to make sure he’s on board with things we’re doing collectively, that he’s a positive influence on the work – the young guys – that we can still push him to grow and improve,” said the TFC manager.

"And then from all that, we’ll see what happens, but I know that this club means so much to him so I’m confident that as time goes on, he’ll continue to play an important role, whatever that is,” he added.

Bob has worked with a young Michael in the past, drafting him thirty-sixth overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft when he was in charge of the MetroStars and again in the late 2000s with the U.S. men’s national team.

But with his son now at a different point in his career, taking on more of a mentorship role than perhaps in past seasons especially with such a young roster, Bob has gotten a greater sense of appreciation for the little things Michael does as a professional after seeing him in action day-in and day-out.

“When you have players who love the game, who come in every day, who are excited about training, understand the details of training, Michael would certainly be one of the guys,” said Bob Bradley. “I’ve worked with Michael before, I’ve watched him play, we’ve had so many different discussions on the game, but it’s still nice to see the way he takes an active role with all sorts of players, trying to find the right way with young guys, trying to follow-up with players after training.”

It’s been a strong start to the year for the Toronto midfielder. Michael Bradley has started each of the Reds’ first five matches – including once at centre-back – totalling 440 minutes which ranks third among TFC’s outfield players behind only Alejandro Pozuelo and Jesús Jiménez. He’s second on the team with eight tackles and second among midfielders in passing percentage (80.1%).

When asked what he would attribute his strong start to the year to, the three-time MLS all-star says he credits his dad’s keen eye for detail, helping improve not only the team, but the veteran midfielder’s personal game as well. The TFC coaching staff has pushed him to be ‘better, sharper, and more effective’ with how he does things – something that Michael Bradley believes has played a big role in how he’s begun the season.

READ MORE: BIG READ: Bob Bradley proving in his early days in Toronto that he is the real deal

The biggest factor, however, may just be the overall culture that his dad has created since joining Toronto just a few months back. By all accounts, it’s day and night compared to the training atmosphere just a few months ago, with the TFC head coach demanding more out of his players while still maintaining a fun and engaging environment.

“The group is in a really good place,” said Michael Bradley. “I think guys come in excited every day about what we’re doing. I think the mix that we have is a really good one, so it’s fun and engaging every day to come in and try to walk out on the field and be as good and as sharp as I could be.”

As he gets up there in age, the 2015 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year has mentioned in the past how he’d love to stay involved in the game after his playing career, perhaps following in his dad’s footsteps in a potential coaching role. Will that be next season? With his love and passion for playing the game still abundantly clear – something Bradley stressed when chatting with him on Thursday afternoon – and the way that he takes care of his body, probably not.

But what’s almost certain is that his long-term future will be in the place and with the club he now calls home.

“The club and the city mean an incredible amount to me. This is home for me and my family. Honestly, regardless of how anything goes, Toronto FC will always be my club and it will always have a special place for me in my heart, for my family.

“The longer that I’m here, the love grows, and the hope is to be here still for a long time.”

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