FC Dallas right back Reggie Cannon has some big goals, and he says he's remaining focused on them with soccer still on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining MLSsoccer.com's Extratime podcast for a Thursday interview, Cannon talked about how he's handling seeing the biggest season of his career come to a grinding halt, and how he hopes the agreement he came to with FC Dallas can be used as blueprint for the club's young players in the future. Cannon signed a contract extension with Dallas last month, but one that was structured in a way that gave the club incentive to move him abroad through payment increases that kick in if he were still on the roster by a certain deadline.
"I'm pretty open about it," Cannon said. "I talked to media people and everyone and I wanted them to know the reason for me signing this contract wasn't because I was planning to stay for five years. It was really setting up for a summer transfer. There were so many things in there that really incentivized Dallas to sell me. That was one of the biggest things, especially before [the pandemic] happened — this summer was really going to be a huge opportunity for me to go."
Cannon, 21, had recently found himself as a US men's national team regular before the pandemic, with 11 senior caps. While he was looking forward to ideally making a move abroad this season, Cannon said he's focused on making sure he's fit and ready to hit the ground running whenever play resumes. Ultimately, he said his hope is the way he was able to come to the agreement with the club on the contract that allowed him to pursue his goals will work to do the benefit of young players who find themselves in a similar situation, who can follow a similar path.
"Dallas and I had a mutual agreement. It wasn't that I think I'm better or bigger than Dallas, I just wanted to be the best I can be," Cannon said. "I still do. I want to start in a World Cup. I want to be the best right back this nation's ever seen. I want to be the best right back in the world. I have aspirations, I have dreams, and I know the only way to do that is push myself and make myself uncomfortable. That was obviously a big thing going into this summer, but now I don't really know where that leaves us, I'm just going to focus on what's happening and just be present.
"I wanted to make a pathway so that there could be a mutual agreement between the club and the player — both parties interests are important," he added. "I have the interest in going to Europe and they have the interest to sell me and develop players. They can say they've developed a model from academy to first to national team to Europe. And I can say to all the young kids, 'Look, there's trust in this. We're a family. You can trust these guys.'"
