Gregg Berhalter revealed he was being blackmailed during the 2022 FIFA World Cup with information regarding a 30-year-old incident involving his wife Rosalind. Now, it turns out that it was the parents of one of his own players responsible for supplying the information aimed at taking down the former USMNT manager.

ESPNFC revealed Wednesday that the parents of USMNT forward Gio Reyna were reportedly the source of the bombshell information that was brought forth to U.S. Soccer regarding the incident involving Berhalter and his wife Rosalind from 1991.

Reyna's father, Claudio Reyna, a former USMNT captain, and his wife Danielle, reportedly informed U.S. Soccer about Berhalter's past during a Dec. 11 phone call. That same day, Berhalter had made comments about the USMNT nearly sending a player (who later was made clear to be Gio Reyna) home for failing to meet team expectations. Berhalter had previously revealed that Reyna was not going to have a big role at the World Cup. The 20-year-old played a total of 52 minutes for the USMNT during the tournament across two substitute appearances.

Berhalter revealed the attempted blackmail on Tuesday in a lengthy statement, during which he detailed the 1991 incident with his wife, during which he kicked her following an altercation shortly after they met.

 

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To know that it was the Reyna family behind the leaks is truly shocking given the longevity behind their relationship with Berhalter and his wife Rosalind. Reyna and Berhalter had played soccer together since they were children and were teammates on the USMNT from 1994-2006. Their wives played soccer together at the University of North Carolina for four years, per ESPN.

Despite that history, it seems their relationship was frayed after Berhalter's controversial decision on Gio Reyna at the World Cup. Clearly, that decision didn't sit well with Claudio and Danielle Reyna, who appear to have taken matters into their own hands in order to get back at Berhalter.

Berhalter's contract as the USMNT manager expired at the start of 2023 and he was replaced by Anthony Hudson, who is going to lead the team's January camp.