On Tuesday, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber made headlines. The man who had 10 goals and 15 assists while earning MLS Best XI honors and finishing third in the voting for MLS MVP last season hit out at United States Men's National Team manager Jurgen Klinsmann, who has repeatedly chosen not to call him up.

Feilhaber's credentials

Feilhaber is no stranger to the national team; the 31-year-old has been capped 41 times by his country, scoring seven times. His rocket volley in the summer of 2007 gave the United States a victory over Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, and he played an important role at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, he's never been a part of Klinsmann's plans. He made his frustrations plain during MLS Media Day on Tuesday.

The midfielder called out Klinsmann on Tuesday

"It's something that definitely frustrated me...probably two to three years ago, maybe even less than two to three years ago," said Feilhaber in relation to his lack of recent international appearances. "It's not going to happen [and] this last season was my best, full comprehensive season as a professional. I'm playing the best soccer I have in my career. If I'm not getting an opportunity with the national team now then I need to accept that it's not going to happen. At least not under Jurgen Klinsmann."

Feilhaber didn't stop there, and went on to say that he doesn't "think that Jurgen calls in the best players that are available to him."

Any history between Feilhaber and Klinsmann?

Given those quotes, one could be forgiven for thinking that Feilhaber had never been given a look by Klinsmann. However, the SKC man's last appearance for the USMNT came as a substitute against South Korea at the end of January Camp in 2014, with the German as his manager. That was the last time he was called up in any capacity.

When he voiced his disagreement on Thursday, this was something that Klinsmann was quick to emphasize when he conducted interviews with ESPNFC's Jeff Carlisle and Goal.com's Ives Galarcep.

Klinsmann's response

"We had [Feilhaber] several times with us, and he was not able to make a mark," Klinsmann told Carlisle. "Benny unfortunately was never able to step up to an international level with me. Whatever was before was before."

He expanded on that point while talking to Galarcep, and was quick to make it known he made his own judgements on the player. "I cannot speak for [Bradley]. Bob had his own experiences with him. Whenever he came in with us, he never made an impression that made us say, ‘This is an international level.’ It’s as simple as that," said the former World Cup winner.

Klinsmann is no stranger to criticism of team selection, and he found himself under intense pressure over the summer. If the USMNT continue to struggle over the first half of 2016, it's something which will be brought up time and again. Only time will tell if the manager's decision was the right one.