Long before his request for partaking in the friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland was declined, Christian Pulisic had ruled himself out from representing the USMNT at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Following initial claims that Pulisic might not want to talk about his decision of opting out of an opportunity to win silverware on home soil, the 26-year-old instead broke his silence on the matter while speaking on a call with Golazo America.
USMNT boss Maurico Pichettino named a 60-man initial squad ahead of the Gold Cup, including names such as Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson, while the likes of Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna were left out due to their Club World Cup commitments.
'My decision is best for myself and for the team'

Responding with his take on skipping the Gold Cup, Pulisic said, "I knew how I was feeling towards the end of last season. I was dealing with a couple of small things that just kept on lingering and to go on and straight into the summer and play for six weeks and then go directly into preseason with my team and get no rest and then go straight into the next season and straight into the [2026] World Cup.
"I had to make a decision, and this is what I feel is best for myself and ultimately best for the team."
Pulisic played around 120 games for AC Milan and the USMNT over the last two seasons.
Pulisic has been involved in a myriad of controversies over his Gold Cup status, but has maintained he remains committed while calling for fans to stay united for the better cause.
"People can question my decision, and I just don't understand why so many people are so big on just wanting to you know give out these takes when they've been through tough moments themselves. I don't understand the idea of wanting to divide this fan base against the players, against the team and bring a negative light over it in any way; but we tend to do that a lot and it doesn't make sense to me, but truly I don't let it affect me too much and this is the right decision like I said for myself and for the team at the end of the day and people will see that," he reiterated.
"I'm gonna be in good shape once this next season starts and you guys will see. I'm hungrier than ever truly so I'm really looking forward for big things to come."