Michael Bradley to Toronto FC

Michael Bradley to Toronto FC.  Wow.
For some reason this feels more disappointing than the Clint Dempsey transfer, but I'm not sure exactly why.  I knew that he had been having a harder time finding the starting lineup than usual, but I figured it had more to do with his injuries and getting back into the swing of things.  And even if he was going to make a move away from Roma, it seems like he would have had the chance to move to another club in Europe that would give him a chance to play more.
So what are some of the reasons that he might leave?  Well, we can start with the same reasons that Clint came back, the first of which was the chance to move back to North America while maintaning a comparable salary to what he had been making in Europe.  It's impossible to overstate how appealing the chance to come home would be, particularly if there was no financial consequences.  It could simply be a case of MB seeing this as possibly his last chance to make a triumphant return to America on a similar salary scale, and taking it.
It is also possible that Michael could see the writing on the wall; that his chance to play meaningful minutes for a Champion's League team was quickly receding.  I would have bet that MB still had a great chance to develop into a player that could carve out such a role, but it is possible that he was beginning to doubt that he'd get another chance as golden as the one he had with Roma.  Now that they are on the verge of a Champions League berth and he has found himslef on the outside of the starting lineup looking in, maybe he is starting to doubt that he will ever be given the chance to play on that level.  While it's hard for me to believe that a 26 year old Michael Bradley no longer believes that he can compete at the highest level, the January of a World Cup year is an extremely strange time to make such a move.
The thought of Michael Bradley playing zero significant minutes from now until the beginning of the MLS season in March is one of the most cringe worthy prospects possible ahead of the World Cup.  Even if he wasn't getting as much playing time as he'd have liked with Roma, is it really going to serve him better waiting around for the MLS season to start?  Is he so sure of his spot on the World Cup roster (as long as he's healthy) that the allure of living in North Amera again is just too great?  What is his motivation for doing this right now?
The best case scenario would be if MB had already worked out a deal with TFC for an immediate loan to a club that is currently in season.  It's not necessarily a death knell for him to be playing in MLS for the coming season, but it is an absolute necessity for him to continue to play in the intervening time.  Even a loan to a team competing in the Championship could end up being a godsend, as long as he was a stalwart in the Starting XI.  We are counting on Michael to be the anchor and tempo setter in the midfield, and it had been very comforting to know that our general was getting meaningful minutes for a potential Champion's League participant.  Now the questions around our best players have only deepened.