Christian Pulisic, Landon Donovan controversy explained: USMNT stars feuding after Pulisic skips Gold Cup

While the U.S. men's national team continues their final preparations for the Concacaf Gold Cup, the attention is firmly on one player who is not currently with the group – Christian Pulisic.

The attacking star was left off the USMNT's roster for their pre-Gold Cup friendlies this month and also missed out on the actual squad for this summer's tournament, a decision that Pulisic made in conjunction with USMNT staff with his workload in mind. The AC Milan talent has played 57 matches for club and country during the 2024-25 season and asked for time off to recover from that workload, with this summer his last chance to recalibrate before the next season with his club as well as the 2026 World Cup.

Though most had accepted the decision in the weeks since it was announced, retired USMNT star Landon Donovan vocalized his issues with Pulisic's choice over the weekend, ushering in a feud between Donovan and Pulisic's father, Mark. The days since have seen many in the American soccer landscape take to social media to offer their thoughts, which has lingered over the U.S. team as they enter the final year before serving as one of the host nations at the World Cup.

WATCH: Pulisic joins CBS Sports to discuss missing Gold Cup

Here's an explainer of the kerfuffle involving Donovan and Pulisic.

Christian Pulisic opts out of Gold Cup

Pulisic's exclusion from this summer's competition was announced on May 22, when the USMNT roster for this month's friendlies against Turkiye and Switzerland became public. The star was one of several USMNT players who did not make the cut, all for a variety of reasons – Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah and Gio Reyna are tied up at the FIFA Club World Cup, while Antonee Robinson underwent minor knee surgery and Yunus Musah was excluded for personal reasons, as he now nears a move to Napoli.

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker explained Pulisic's exclusion that day, describing it as a decision made by the player and the staff jointly and with his workload in mind. Pulisic has played 100 games with AC Milan over the last two seasons, logging more than 7,000 minutes on the pitch – and that is only for his club. He has 14 additional games for the national team in 2024 and 2025, including last summer's Copa America run that ended in the group stage.

"Christian and his team approached the federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break," Crocker said in a statement. "After thoughtful discussions and careful consideration, we made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he's fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season."

Pochettino echoed that sentiment during a recent press conference, signaling that Pulisic has the full backing of the national team staff with the World Cup just a year away.

"We all had a conversation between each other, and I think the best decision in this case is what is going to happen, [which] is to give rest," Pochettino said. "Many people can say it's really important for us to all be together for the last time before the World Cup, but as a coaching staff, we always listen to the player and then, of course, we take the decision. We have our own ideas about everything. But I think after the consideration about Christian, we decided the best for him, the best for the national team is the decision that we made."

Landon Donovan: 'It's pissing me off'

On June 8, Donovan compared Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo to several USMNT players during Fox Sports' broadcast of the UEFA Nations League final. Though he did not call out anyone by name, many interpreted Donovan's comments as a sentiment directed at Pulisic specifically.

"This is what it means to represent your country," Donovan said. "This is what it means. And if you don't want to take this as a professional soccer player, as someone who gets the opportunity to wear that jersey and take it seriously and responsibly, then don't come in. This is what it means. [Ronaldo's] 40 years old. He's played a long ass season. He's tired. He's out there grinding. Hurt himself in the process, and I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off."

Pulisic's father takes to Instagram

Shortly after Donovan made his comments, Pulisic's father Mark shared a response of his own on Instagram. The elder Pulisic posted a screenshot from ChatGPT, asking the chatbot why Donovan took a sabbatical from 2012 to 2013. The chatbot replied, "Landon Donovan took his sabbatical because he was feeling both physically and mentally exhausted after years of intense competition and the pressure that comes with being a top athlete. He'd been playing professionally from a young age and had participated in multiple World Cups, so he felt the need to step back and take some time for himself. This break allowed him to rest, travel, and ultimately return to the game with a refreshed mindset."

Mark Pulisic expanded in the caption to his post, writing, "This guy is talking about commitment. Look in the mirror + grow a pair and call names out, or are you afraid? Next time you want an interview, you will get rejected again."

Christian Pulisic liked the post and on Tuesday, posted a picture of himself on social media relaxing with his loved ones and writing, "Just what the Dr. ordered."

The American soccer community chimes in

Donovan's comment has since become a lightning rod in the American soccer community, with many notable figures offering their two cents – and not exactly taking the retired star's side. Eddie Johnson, Donovan's teammate at the 2006 World Cup, was notably critical in an Instagram comment.

"We can't question this man's love for representing his country," Johnson said. "If you know CP, that kid wants to play every chance he can play … CP has more wear and tear on his body at a younger age … A career in MLS can't compare to the workload and travel of a player whose entire career was in Europe and has to travel from abroad to the states for friendlies and qualifiers. You just can't compare..."

Clint Dempsey, who spent much of his career in Europe, spoke about the experiences of flying across the Atlantic Ocean to represent the national team on an episode of his podcast, The Deuce.

"In terms of [Pulisic's] situation, I can't say what it is, I don't know the ins and outs of it," Dempsey said. "But in terms of my situation, when I played in Europe and came back, there were times where I was tired. I had to get a PRP injection in my adductor. I had to maybe rest for some of the friendly games so that I could be fit to play in the tournaments. Whether it was Gold Cup, whether it was Copa [America], whether it was Confederations Cup, whether it was the World Cup. Like, I wasn't gonna miss competitions. That's just the kind of guy that I always was. So, for me, I don't understand it because that wasn't my mentality. I always wanted to play in those games."

He also appeared to criticize Donovan's choice to take a sabbatical more than a decade ago.

"The analogy I use is you have the opportunity to go plant the crops, harvest the crops, and then you're sitting at the table, it's time to eat, and you're showing up when it's time to eat. It's kind of like, 'Where were you when we were grinding in the sun, putting that stuff out there, the away games, your back against the wall?'" Dempsey said. "I don't know what he was dealing with and what he was going through, that's the hard part, but to build your teammates' trust and all that, you've got to go through the wars with them, the battles with them. You've got to be able to look and say, 'Hey, they're not going to flake on you. When your back's against the wall and you need to win, they're going to be right there with you.' So I can't say what their situations were, but that's how I looked at that."

Pulisic's teammates speak up

It is not only the USMNT's retired talents who have responded to Donovan's comments. Pulisic's teammates have stood behind him this week, talking about their shared experiences during a rocky period for the national team.

"None of us take for granted that we get to represent a national team because it's one of the biggest honors that we can have in the sport of football," Weston McKennie said in an interview with USA Today. "Any chance that we get, we want to play. But obviously, if you don't feel like your body is in the right condition, and you don't feel like your body is in the best form or shape or whatever, to be able to do that at 100%, and you feel like you're risking injury, then it's better to let someone else go in that is completely 100%."

Tyler Adams, meanwhile, labeled the comments as "noise" as he and the other players on the Gold Cup roster prepare for the upcoming competition.

"We don't talk about that internally as a group," Adams said in an interview with the Associated Press. "The noise on the outside is the noise on the outside. I think we need to focus on what we need to do as a group and continue to build."