The ripple results of 2023 Main League Soccer MVP Lucho Acosta going from FC Cincinnati to FC Dallas are important.
Within the straight cash-for-player deal for Acosta, introduced Wednesday, Cincinnati will obtain $5 million assured and will rise up to an extra $1 million if sure performance-based metrics are achieved, the MLS announced.
After months of hypothesis, Acosta leaves a profitable workforce (third within the Japanese Convention final season) for a workforce that struggled final season (eleventh within the Western Convention) and entered the offseason in dire straits.
Here is how the deal impacts three groups:
FC Dallas: Provides Lucho Acosta
With the Chicago Fireplace and San Jose Earthquakes anchoring the bottoms of their respective conferences, Dallas obtained a little bit of a free cross in 2024, but it surely entered the offseason in dire straits. It confronted extra photographs — 211 — than simply about anybody else in MLS final season and completed nicely outdoors the playoffs (solely 41 factors).
The one shiny spot for Dallas heading into 2025 was Croatian striker Petar Musa. The designated participant grew into MLS over the course of 2024 and appeared just like the type of participant Dallas may construct round.
At 6-foot-3, Musa (16 targets in 2024) was already an aerial menace within the penalty field. However how way more can he obtain with assist from the quick, inventive and assist-driven Acosta?
Acosta’s arrival ought to essentially shift Dallas’ entrance line and unlock Musa’s goalscoring potential. Acosta led the league in assists in 2024 with 20. If he delivers the identical type of numbers in 2025, he’ll elevate Dallas into the Western Convention playoffs all by himself.
