Chicago Fire sells Maloney to Hull City
Chicago Fire confirmed the transfer of the Scottish playmaker Shaun Maloney to Hull City, ending his unproductive stint in MLS.
Shaun Maloney's brief time with the Chicago Fire has come to an end.
Fire parted ways with the underachieving designated player Friday (AEST), selling Maloney to English Championship side Hull City for an undisclosed fee. The club's announcement came after weeks of speculation that the former Wigan midfielder would return to England, with Fire coach Frank Yallop publicly confirming Maloney was on the way out.
Maloney, 32, compiled three goals and two assists in 14 MLS matches — a far cry from the production the Fire front office would have hoped for from a player on the books for $2.2 million in 2015, according to the MLS players union.
"This was a very difficult decision to make but one that I felt I needed to make for various reasons," Maloney said. "Although my time at the club was brief, I feel very fortunate for the experience to play for the Chicago Fire and would like to thank in particular my teammates for the time I spent with them and hope that in the future the club can become successful on the pitch once again."
At 7-13-5, Fire has the worst record in MLS with eight matches remaining on the club's schedule.