Spurned by management at Boca Juniors, the most famous club in Argentina, Matias Donnet bought out his own contract, worth $250,000, and made the trip north to United States, where he has begun his new career with D.C. United, debuting last weekend as a second-half substitute in its 2-1 win at Chivas USA. Boca had told 26-year-old Donnet that he had no future with the club, forcing him to look for work elsewhere, but instead of Latin America or Europe the Argentine chose Major League Soccer. “Opportunities like this don’t come along often,” said United technical director Dave Kasper, who negotiated a deal that includes a club-held option after this season. “At his age, we feel he still has a lot of soccer ahead of him and, being in a new environment, it’s going to help him.” Donnet is the fourth Argentine to sign with United in the last three years; two of those, Facundo Erpen and Christian Gomez, have gone on to become all-stars. The new player, who was training with United for three weeks while awaiting a work visa, said: “I had been to the States before, I liked the culture, the way they treat people, the stadiums, the locker rooms, so for me, it was a good opportunity to experience something new in another country.” Donnet said he was treated harshly by Boca’s management prior to his departure. “They had forgotten everything I had done for the club,” he said. “They view you first as a player, not a person, and they don’t care about the human side of it. For me, it was time to look for something new.”