Yedlin said that he has a "great relationship" with Dest.
"Sergiño came up with that younger generation," he said. "Those guys have their own little group. But Sergiño is obviously a great kid. He's a great player, can play right or left, just technically so gifted. Obviously playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world. It's really just to come in, do the best that I can do and try to push him to be the best that he can be. The same for him to push me to be the best that I can be."
In February, Yedlin made an audacious move. Not only did he change teams and leagues, he switched countries. He left Newcastle United in England and signed a contract with Galatasaray in Turkey through June 2023.
Quite a leap.
"I mean, there's big cultural things, really completely different part of the world," he said. "I really enjoyed that aspect of it. It was one of the things that kind of drove me to leave England, just to see a different culture and kind of get out of my comfort zone again."
Yedlin made nine appearances and scored one goal during his first half season as Galatasaray was nosed out by Besiktas for the Turkish Super Lig title on goal differential.
"I was actually quite surprised by Turkey," Yedlin said. "You got some very good players. They're very technical players, very physical. The one thing that separates the Premier League, and this may be from a lot of other leagues in the world also, is just the end quality. You make a mistake and you're for sure to get punished. That's really the only thing that I found, but it's a great league. I've had a great, great experience there so far."
He might be one of the oldest players on this USMNT squad, but Yedlin is one of the youngest players anywhere to invest in a professional soccer team. On May 20, he joined the San Diego Loyal SC ownership group. Co-founder and former USMNT teammate Landon Donovan is the manager.
Yedlin decided to make a financial commitment after the Loyal walked off the field with a 3-1 lead over match with Phoenix Rising after hearing an anti-LGBTQ slur directed toward one of its players in 2020. It cost the team a USL Championship playoff spot.
"That really caught my eye," he said. "It really just opened my eyes that wow there's a professional club out there that will give up a spot, potentially in the playoffs, to bring awareness to these issues that we have that … are bigger than sport. I think they set a great example for the rest of the world, not just for the U.S., not just for soccer but for the rest of the world and all sports.
"It was a situation that I wanted. It's a club that I want to be a part of as a player. I was fortunate enough to come in as a supporting owner. I'm honored to be part of the Loyal and looking to help in any way."
Just another example Yedlin can set for his younger teammates.
