'Those two have been a joke' - Landon Donovan, Tim Howard blast Ex-Toronto FC duo Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi for 'embarrassing' the club

Addressing Toronto FC's ongoing struggles, former USMNT star Landon Donovan was highly critical of the club's former pair of designated players, Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi. The club released both players earlier this month.

Donovan acknowledged Toronto's broader organizational issues, including "bad decisions, bad GMs, bad hires, bad leadership," but singled out the DPs as disappointing investments, calling them "an absolute disaster."

“They’ve had flashes," Donovan said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast with Tim Howard. "But Insigne and Bernardeschi, it’s really honestly been, embarrassing, is the word to use. I know things haven’t been great... But those two have been a joke. But they’re gone now."

Insigne, in particular, has been a disappointment for Toronto. According to the latest MLS salary guide, released last month, the Italian has the second highest salary in the league, a deal he agreed after leaving his boyhood club Napoli in 2022.

His $15.4 million intake is more than the total spend of nine MLS clubs this year. Bernardeschi, too, was taking up a significant portion of the team's payroll, with a guaranteed compensation of $6.3M.

Howard agreed with Donovan's assessment, saying Toronto was the "the Atlanta before Atlanta" but that success has disappeared.

"Toronto has got it right for a very long time," Howard said. "They were kind of the Atlanta before Atlanta, you know? Where they're like ‘All right, we're gonna go give big contracts’ and it worked out with Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovenco. I mean those worked out. So to throw my big money at players was a good thing for them.

“The Bernardeschi and Insigne thing, they should be ashamed themselves. Because If I'm reading it right, Insigne, his salary was $15.4 million, Bernardeschi’s $6.3 million. Combined it's more than the total wage bill of all about seven MLS team. Crazy stat.”

Insigne signed for Toronto FC in the summer of 2022. Federico Bernadeschi also signed that year and ended his time in Toronto with 99 appearances.

Toronto FC will continue their rebuild under head coach Robin Fraser and they sit in 12th place on the Eastern Conference. They face Charlotte FC on Saturday.