![\"Milan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUT-L-sdfc-0913-02.jpg\")
Milan Iloski of the Philadelphia Union takes a shot as Adri Mehmeti of the New York Red Bulls during the first half at Sports Illustrated Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nForgive Milan Iloski if he walks toward the wrong bench at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday night, or he jogs to the wrong locker room at halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be a little bit weird coming back,\u201d Iloski said, \u201cbeing on the opposite bench, doing things backward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old striker plays San Diego FC for the first time since he was playing for San Diego FC.<\/p>\n
The fairy tale wasn\u2019t supposed to go like this, the hometown kid who emerged out of seemingly nowhere last summer to score goal after goal for his hometown club, then was suddenly gone as soon as he arrived. Ten goals over 14 games in a mere 471 minutes, including four in an incomprehensible 20 minutes in his first career league start at first-place Vancouver, then \u2026<\/p>\n
Gone to the Philadelphia Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really loved my time there, playing in front of my family,\u201d Iloski said earlier this week. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ll never forget. \u2026 I know when I left there was a lot of stuff in the media that I wanted to leave and I was asking for outrageous sums of money, which is just a lie. I definitely wanted to be in San Diego. I never wanted to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fair enough if you don\u2019t believe in me as a player, but don\u2019t try to change the story when you go out in the public. \u2026 That\u2019s the game, I guess. Everyone\u2019s got to save face a little bit. I\u2019m definitely looking forward to going back and playing. It will definitely be in the back of my head, no matter how happy I am here in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milan Iloski of the Philadelphia Union takes a shot as Adri Mehmeti of the New York Red Bulls during the first half at Sports Illustrated Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
And he is happy in Philadelphia. The San Pasqual High alum hasn\u2019t scored four goals in 20 minutes \u2013 an MLS record that might never be broken \u2013 but he has been productive now that he\u2019s playing his natural central forward position, ranking 11th in Major League Soccer this season with 12 goals and No. 2 among American-born players.<\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s Marcus Ingvartsen, SDFC\u2019s first-choice striker who at $1.8 million makes three times as much as Iloski, has 11.<\/p>\n
Iloski currently ranks 58th in Fotmob.com\u2019s overall player ratings<\/a> at 7.30 (Inter Miami\u2019s Lionel Messi is first at 8.26), ahead of everyone on the SDFC roster except for Danish winger Anders Dreyer.<\/p>\n Other than the contentious exit of Mexican winger Hirving \u201cChucky\u201d Lozano, Iloski remains the most controversial decision by the young club that has got more roster moves right than wrong \u2013 especially viewed through the prism of the team\u2019s middling performance this year after falling a game short of MLS Cup in its inaugural season.<\/p>\n Iloski arrived on a 15-week loan from Danish sister club FC Nordsjaelland amid a series of injuries to Ingvartsen. He was considered a stopgap, a local star from Escondido and UCLA who might provide a spark off the bench.<\/p>\n Instead, he lit the city on fire.<\/p>\n The loan was set to end in July, and Iloski and San Diego FC began negotiations about his future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were a long ways away,\u201d SDFC sporting director Tyler Heaps said last summer. \u201cI think if it was close, it would have gotten done.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem was that Iloski had an annualized salary of $156,000, according to players association figures, of which he made about $45,000 during his loan spell. MLS strikers scoring at his rate were making 10, even 20, times that<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instead, Iloski was sent back to FC Nordsjaelland, which began taking calls from European and MLS suitors. Iloski says Philadelphia didn\u2019t offer the most money but the biggest role, which in the end was paramount for him. At SDFC, in his view, \u201cI was never going to be an important part of the team, I was just going to be another guy on the bench who had to fight to make the squad.\u201d<\/p>\n His base salary at Philadelphia this season is $575,000, with total compensation of $628,198. He\u2019s under contract through 2027, with a club option for 2028.<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUT-L-sdfcxol-0608-017.jpg\")
San Diego FC\u2019s Milan Iloski lies on the ground after a goal against Club America during their match at Snapdragon Stadium on June 7. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n