Segota Expected to Sign Contract by Next Week

Midfielder Branko Segota is expected to sign a multiyear contract when the Sockers return to San Diego next week, managing general partner Bob Bell said Wednesday.

“All I can say is, all the numbers have been agreed on,” Bell said.

Segota, who is earning $120,000 in the option year of a three-year contract, is expected to sign a four-year contract worth approximately $1 million.

Bell and Segota met Tuesday night to discuss the contract.

“I’m getting close on a contract,” Segota said. “I want to make sure everything is right before I say anything.”

Segota, the Sockers’ leading scorer this season and last, has been through this before.

Earlier this season, he was close to agreeing to a six-year, $1.25-million contract that would have been the most lucrative in the history of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

The Sockers called a news conference for noon at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Dec. 16. At 11:05 a.m., Segota called Bell to say he did not want to sign the contract.

At the time, Segota said the Sockers had called the news conference without his consent and that he did not want to be tied down to such a long contract.

In the months since, Segota said he would play out his option and see what offers he received from other MISL clubs and European outdoor teams.

Now, he says he is ready to sign a contract with the Sockers.