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Will the Sounders spend? GM Garth Lagerwey walks back payroll comments as fans grow wary

Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey made a tumultuous start to 2018 even worse on himself this week with ill-tempered remarks about his team’s financial ability that were easily his most regrettable since arriving here three years ago.

Lagerwey scrambled Wednesday to undo the damage, admitting he “screwed up’’ by telling mlssoccer.com in a video interview his team’s days of being Major League Soccer’s top spenders are likely done. In the interview, which garnered league-wide attention, Lagerwey said the Sounders “punch above our weight’’ financially compared to major markets like Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and Atlanta and would have to be more efficient going forward.