Luciano Acosta, one of the best to ever play in MLS, is leaving the league for Brazil’s top division without much fanfare.
On Friday, FC Dallas announced that they had sold the 2023 MLS MVP to Brazil’s Fluminense in a move that brings an end to his tenure with the Texas club.
While the now 31-year-old is a four-time MLS Best XI and five-time MLS Player of the Month, his fit in Dallas has never worked. Unlike his time with FC Cincinnati and D.C. United, he has struggled to keep up, and the combinations within head coach Eric Quill’s team have fallen short of expectations.
At the same time, his struggles followed a dramatic exit for Cincinnati, where he showed up late to preseason before forcing a $6 million transfer to Dallas, days before the regular season kicked off. However, the move allowed Cincinnati to add Evander, who has 15 goals and seven assists and has helped them to second in the Eastern Conference, from the Portland Timbers.
Meanwhile, Acosta has faded into MLS obscurity on an underperforming FC Dallas side with five goals and an assist in 18 games, a far cry from his 15 goal and 19 assist 2024 campaign, and a downturn from a career that has seen him put up 77 goals and 20 assists in 272 MLS matches.
Yet, despite the dip in production, Tom Bogert reports that Dallas will receive $4 million plus add-ons from Fluminense, and that personal terms have already been agreed upon as they look to replace Jhon Arias, who joined Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the summer.
“Signing Lucho Acosta was a calculated move for our club, and we were excited about what he could bring to FC Dallas. His legacy in MLS is undeniable, and while this chapter was shorter than we imagined, we respect Lucho’s desire to be closer to home and thank him for his contributions this season,” said FC Dallas president Dan Hunt.
“As we look ahead, this move gives us the opportunity to reshape our roster and continue building a team that plays with purpose, pride, and intensity.”
The transfer ends a dramatic and short tenure for Acosta in Dallas, and one that saw him quip upon his return to Cincinnati, when he suggested supporters should be grateful, instead of booing their former star.
“The truth is I know very well what I did here,” Acosta said at the time. “I know what I gave to this club and the truth is that people should be grateful... I think we gave them a Supporters Shield, I gave them an MVP campaign and a Goal of the Year. I think they should be grateful, but I hold my head high with what I did for the club.”
Now, the veteran midfielder steps beyond the MLS chapter of his career, and joins Fluminense for the end of their Brasileirão season, which currently sees them sitting ninth in the league through 16 games.
FC Dallas, meanwhile, will continue without him and hope to climb from 12th in the Western Conference and erase the five-point gap between them and the final MLS Cup Playoff spot in their remaining 10 matches.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luciano Acosta’s MLS Era Ends With Surprise Brazil Move.
