Gio Reyna’s agent hits back at claims that he was nearly sent home from World Cup

Reyna barely featured for the US

Gio Reyna's agent has hit back at claims that his client was nearly sent home from the USA's World Cup squad. Following their round of 16 exit, US coach Gregg Berhalter revealed that he nearly dismissed a member of his 26-man squad while still out in Qatar. Berhalter even said that he was preparing to book the flight home for the player. "We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was," he explained. "What it came down to was, we're going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we're going to behave from here out. There aren’t going to be any more infractions." Reports from The Athletic suggested that Borussia Dortmund star Reyna was the player in question while ESPN reported that the other members of the squad were asked to vote on whether the 20-year-old should stay or not. 13 voted for him to stay while 12 voted for him to go. Other reports have said that the youngster's omission from the US' opening game was as a result of an "an alarming lack of effort in training" and was warned by his fellow teammates to improve his intensity. Reyna's agent, Dan Segal, however has claimed that the situation was "complicated" and criticised Berhalter for making a private matter public. He said: "It is disappointing and disrespectful for certain parties to be commenting on private team matters publicly, especially when some do so without full knowledge of the facts and others do so in a self-serving manner. "At this point, our view is that nothing more is gained by those associated with the national team turning on each other, and we plan no further comment on this matter." US supporters were disappointed after Reyna failed to make a single start for the side - with his only game time being a seven-minute spell against England and the entire second half in the defeat to the Netherlands. Related links:

• Neymar publishes private chats with Brazil teammates after World Cup exit
• Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister blasts Portugal boss’ decision to start forward on the bench