FC Dallas has acquired 30-year-old Argentine playmaker Luciano “Lucho” Acosta in a cash-for-player trade from FC Cincinnati, in exchange for $5 million and up to $1 million in conditional cash if certain performance metrics are met. The arrival of the 2023 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player marks the largest cash-for-player trade in Major League Soccer history (To this point).
Acosta joins FC Dallas as a Designated Player. He is a U.S. permanent resident and will be immediately added to the 2025 roster. According to the MLS roster profiles, Acosta is under contract through 2026 with a 2027 option. He made a base salary of $2.9 million with Cinci last season with a guaranteed comp of $4.2 mil. That’s well above the previous record of $3.2 mil GC Franco Jara was paid.
His career stats just in MLS regular season play are remarkable: 72 goals and 97 assists in 251 games (225 starts).
“This is a landmark signing for FC Dallas and a statement of our commitment to building a championship-caliber team,” FC Dallas President Dan Hunt said. “Bringing in a player of Lucho’s caliber—an MVP and proven leader—demonstrates our ambition and desire to compete at the highest level. We are thrilled to welcome him to the FC Dallas family and cannot wait to see him inspire our fans and teammates alike.”
Acosta departs FC Cincinnati as the club’s all-time leader in goals (54) and assists (62). Acosta was named the 2023 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player and earned selections to the MLS Best XI in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Acosta began his pro career with Boca Junions and went on to play for Estudiantes, DC United, and Atlas FC.
“Lucho Acosta is a dynamic playmaker with an exceptional ability to create scoring opportunities and dictate the tempo of a match,” FC Dallas Sporting Director André Zanotta said. “His vision, technical skill, and leadership on the field make him a perfect fit for our attacking philosophy.”
3rd Degree’s Take
While Evander from Portland Timbers would have been everyone’s first choice – including FC Dallas who were reported to have made a $12 million bid – Acosta is a fantastic fallback. He’s a legit top-tier playmaker that should rank with the best in FC Dallas history (Mauro Diaz and David Ferreira).
At 30 (31 in May), Acosta should have enough in the tank to see out this new 3-4 season cycle under Coach Eric Quill.
The known commodity FCD is getting here at this price is much more comfortable and reliable than the crap shoot of a European target.
![[fbcharts] Luciano Acosta, 2024 vs attacking mids. (Courtesy FBref.com)](https://3rddegree.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FBCharts-Luciano-Acosta.png)
TRANSACTION DETAILS
Full Name: Luciano Federico Acosta
Pronunciation: loo-SEE-ah-no uh-CAH-sta
Connect with Lucho: X | Instagram
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: May 31, 1994 (30)
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nationality: Argentina
Height: 5’3”
Last Club: FC Cincinnati
Language Spoken: Spanish and English
Transaction: FC Dallas announced today the acquisition of 30-year-old Argentinian forward Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta in a cash-for-player trade from FC Cincinnati.
I cannot wait to see Musa feast with Lucho feeding him. Much more excited for the season!
There are two things about this deal that i think are true.
1. The League brokered this deal between the three teams to keep a bidding war for Evander from happening and to ensure the two teams needing to offload players (Cincy and Portland) could do so with minimal damage.
2. The Dallas FO was both smart and lucky to position themselves so that they could pick up Acosta for only $5M guaranteed.
Cincy’s offer price for Evander was no different from Dallas’ but Cincy needed to be able to offload Acosta first. So instead of risking a price escalation, the League basically forced Cincy to sell Acosta to Dallas at a discounted price to keep them from raising the price for Evander. Dallas was willing to do this because the price was right, even though Evander was their first choice. Now maybe this isn’t what happened but the simultaneous announcement of the three deals points to a level of coordination which seems outside of the capabilities of any one of the teams on their own.
I was curious how FCD could pull this off for relative peanuts. For me this is kinda like the Mavs bringing in Kyrie – a high risk, high reward acquisition. And what was Lucho’s motivation for leaving Cincy. Was he looking to secure the bag? Did he want to go back home to South America? Or is he just an emotional dude who can’t stay in one place for long? I’m not gonna complain because we are getting Lucho in his prime for a couple of seasons.