Landon Donovan is getting lots of attention after playing the ‘don’t speak until you hear a player better than Clint Dempsey’ game.
Landon Donovan is making headlines after playing a game called ‘Don’t speak until you hear a player better than Clint Dempsey’ — and skipping over big names like Eden Hazard, Mesut Ozil, and Antoine Griezmann.
Donovan, 44, is a former LA Galaxy star who played more than 150 times for the U.S. national team. He and Dempsey were teammates 77 times during their long careers and even shared the U.S. goals record with 57 each.
Donovan has talked openly about his sometimes tricky relationship with the very competitive Dempsey. “We both loved winning and were super competitive,” he told CBS Sports in November 2023. “Sometimes we clashed because I don’t like confrontation, which is just how I was raised.”
Even with their differences, they respected each other a lot. Donovan has always praised Dempsey’s skills, calling him an elite player.
Recently, on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast with former U.S. teammate Tim Howard, Donovan was asked to name players better than Dempsey. The list included greats like Joe Cole, Theo Walcott, Nani, Mesut Ozil, Sadio Mane, Robinho, Christian Eriksen, and Antoine Griezmann. But Donovan stayed quiet until Son Heung-min’s name came up, surprising many fans.
This sparked plenty of reactions online. One fan said, “This is the most deliberate rage bait I’ve ever seen,” while another called it “delusional” because they think all those players are way better than Dempsey. Others found it embarrassing or thought the video should have ended after Joe Cole was mentioned. Some argued that Dempsey doesn’t always get the respect he deserves because he played in England for Fulham and because he’s American—but staying silent on those big names felt off to them.
In a different topic back in March, Donovan spoke out about Noahkai Banks, a young player for Augsburg in Germany. Banks has played for U.S. youth teams but can also play for Germany through his mom. After being invited to join the U.S. squad in April, Banks declined because he wasn’t sure which country he wanted to represent.
Donovan thinks if Banks can’t commit now, he shouldn’t be picked for the national team anymore. “If someone doesn’t want to play for your country, then good riddance,” Donovan said on the podcast. “It’s fine if he feels more German. But if he wanted to be part of the U.S. team, he had plenty of chances. This whole idea that we’re begging him to play for us is nonsense.”
Donovan’s honest opinions keep fans talking, whether it’s about legends like Dempsey or the future of U.S. soccer.