Luis Muriel is at it again, and it's getting disrespectful | OneFootball

If it wasn't already crystal clear where Luis Muriel's mind was at, it is now.

With Orlando City's season long since dead and buried, in no small part thanks to his lacklustre record in front of goal, the 34-year-old has embarked on what appears to be a world tour of all his favourite former employers.

Beginning earlier this month with a trip home and a reunion with Atlético Junior, where he spent his youth, Muriel shared his dream to represent his boyhood club as an adult in a heartfelt interview with Colombian media.

"I have a great desire and a lot of longing to wear the Junior jersey," he said.

That interview, as a one-off love letter to his local area and club, was totally understandable, and probably served as a sigh of relief for some Orlando supporters who feared their striker may be happy to waste away on one last pay cheque of his career without anything to strive or keep fit for.

What Muriel did next, though, crossed a line. Attending Atalanta's 2-0 win over Serie A rivals Fiorentina on Sunday night, he was videoed joyously interacting with the supporters of his most recent former employers and parading around the club's New Balance Arena in a trademark blue-and-black scarf.

"I'll see my agent and we'll talk about a few things," he said in an interview with Italian media earlier in the week. "I still have a one-year contract with Orlando and I made a choice two years ago."

"Yes, I would like to return. After the first year I missed Italian football and Italy so much".

Just a little bit

I get that Muriel acknowledged his current contractual obligations, but it couldn't be more obvious that he wants to leave Orlando.

Let's not forget, this is a club who jumped at the chance to pay you a guaranteed $7.5 million over a three-year deal as a 32-year-old after you'd fell out of favour in Italy.

This is a club who continued to give you ample minutes even as Duncan McGuire returned to the fold after his transfer heartbreak.

This is a club who traded Ramiro Enrique to Saudi Arabia back in September, trusting you to lead the line into the play-offs and beyond.

Unfortunately, Muriel's performances have never come close to repaying the trust - and substantial financial resources - that his current employers invested in him. But all he has to do is show a little respect and go about amicably what now seems to be an inevitable break-up, and Orlando will thank him for his efforts and wish him nothing but the best for the future.

A relationship beyond repair?

If Orlando's front office do the right thing, then Muriel won't be at the club come the new season.

If so, he'll be back somewhere he actually wants to be. Although, truth be told, the Roman Colosseum and Neapolitan pizza have nothing on Space Mountain and Checkers chicken.

Of course, there's a chance that Muriel honours his contract and sees out one final year in Central Florida. But it's clear as day that he's checked out mentally, and Orlando really can't afford his performances to drop any lower than they are currently.

If and when Muriel moves on, his departure will bring a huge sense of regret more than anything.

He's one of the most talented, globally-recognised players that Orlando have ever recruited. I, for one, remember the sheer excitement we all felt back in downtown Victoria, British Columbia after we'd just trounced Cavalry FC 3-0, knowing we still had Muriel to add to that already-devastating attack.

As things stand, it doesn't look like that excitement will ever come good. But there's always the next one.