Christian Pulisic And Tim Weah Hit Back At Criticism From Ex-USMNT Stars

Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah have struck back at their USMNT critics and labelled them as ‘cop-outs’ and ‘evil.’ 

The duo were speaking on the latest episode of the Pulisic docuseries on Paramount+. Filming was conducted around about the time former stars such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Alexi Lalas aimed their jibes at Pulisic and co.

Most of the disapproval about missing the 2025 Gold Cup was aimed directly at Pulisic. The Milan maestro asked to be excluded from the roster after playing consecutive 50-game seasons.

A number of first-teamers also missed the competition whereby Mauricio Pochettino’s side finished as runners-up. The Argentine head coach saw his side lose 2-1 to Mexico in the finale.

“I think those guys are chasing checks.”

Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah speak on former USMNT legends who criticize the current generation, saying things like ‘they lack heart’ 😳 pic.twitter.com/fmsJg2o841

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) August 13, 2025

Christian Pulisic And Tim Weah Slam Critics

Back in June, Christian Pulisic defended his USMNT absence for the 2025 Gold Cup. Now, ‘Captain America‘ and international team-mate Tim Weah have fired back at the former players who spoke badly about them.

“I’d say the most annoying thing, and for me, the biggest cop-out of all time, is when, especially, you know, all pundits want to say: ‘They didn’t want it. They didn’t have the heart, you know, back in our day, we would fight and we would die on that field.”

Weah also added his thoughts and feelings towards the former players in a scathing assessment. The Marseille man didn’t hold back and suggested most of the pundits are two-faced.

“Those guys are chasing checks, and for me, I just feel like they’re really evil, honestly, because they’ve been players, and they know what it’s like when you’re getting bashed.

“Those are the same guys that will turn around and shake your hand and try to be friendly with you.”

Who Criticized Pulisic And Other USMNT Stars?

Earlier this summer, Landon Donovan blasted Christian Pulisic for missing the 2025 Gold Cup. The former US international was left boderline raging the Pulisic wouldn’t participate.

However, the Milan star defended his decision not to play and even his father hit back at Donovan. Pulisic Snr simply reminded the legendary US midfielder of his own sabbatical in 2012-13.

He used ChatGPT and posted the response on social media in June. Christian even ‘liked’ the post which probably wound up Donovan even more.

“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,” was the answer provided.

Elsewhere, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Alexi Lalas all added their thoughts and feelings. The latter questioned Pulisic’s commitment to the national side which naturally, wasn’t well received by ‘Captain America.’

“To question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion that’s that’s way out of line,” Pulisic said.

“I’ve never missed a game in all my years in the national team due to anything but an injury. I want to be there at all times. Sometimes you have to make decisions.

Why Did Pulisic Miss The 2025 Gold Cup?

The reason for Christian Pulisic’s 2025 Gold Cup absence was simply down to him wanting to recharge his batteries. In fact, the Milan star wanted to have an extended summer break to make sure he is in the best possible shape ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Interestingly, Pulisic has returned to full training ahead of the Rossoneri’s Coppa Italia fixture against Bari on August 17. He suffered a minor ankle issue in pre-season and wasn’t risked in the UK fixtures against Leeds and Chelsea.

With that in mind, playing an extra batch of games for the USMNT could have been detrimental to Pulisic’s overall fitness and would have risked serious injury. Something of which he wants to avoid going into a World Cup year.

After playing consecutive 50-game seasons, Pulisic admitted that his body was telling him to rest and recuperate. He explained his decision on the CBS Sports Podcast in June.

“Towards the end of the season, my body just started talking to me, and my mind, and then I started to think ‘what is going to be best for me leading into next year and going into the World Cup?’,” he said.

“Was that to play eight more games and then get no rest at all, go straight into preseason [with Milan] and then grind another year and go straight into the World Cup? That’s not what I felt was best for my body.”