D.C. United could be on the brink of losing one of its biggest stars this summer.
The Athletic is reporting that the Eastern Conference side has received an offer from Saudi side Al-Ahli FC for attacker Luciano Acosta. The deal is reportedly worth $3 million.
That $3 million figure is significantly lower than what the club previously received during the January transfer window, when Acosta nearly completed a shocking move to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
At the time, D.C. was believed to be seeking around $10 million for the diminutive playmaker, but PSG only went upwards of the $7/8 million range.
Similarly, Ben Olsen’s side reportedly received another offer last winter from Saudi club Al-Hilal of roughly $7.5 million for Acosta’s services.
Miguel Almiron’s transfer from Atlanta United to English Premier League club Newcastle United remains the largest outgoing transfer in MLS history to date, with the Paraguay international yielding a $24 million fee.
So just dismantle your team in 2nd or 3rd place for $3 million?
How are they going to replace him with $3 million? Hint: you aren’t.
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The rest of the world soccer is just bizarre, the pressure to win just isn’t there. The pressure to make money is the key.
They will lose the guy for ‘ FREE ‘ at the end of the season. Better $ 3 million than nothing. Also he doen’t want to sign another contract with D.C. He wants to go to Europe for free.
Actually not a bad offer all things considered. The PSG offer was based on his form at the end of last season, and this season his form has been significantly less impressive. Even more importantly, he is out of contract at the end of the season and can sign a pre-contract at any point and leave for free in December. Getting 3 million for him now, when DCU isn’t really in a position to challenge for any hardware (and I say that as a die hard DCU fan) and using that money to tweak the roster around Rooney, including making Lucas Rodriguez’s loan permanent and maybe go get Yamil Asad or a similar player, makes a lot of sense.
Idiotic move to transfer so low.
If they turned down $7-8m and Ligue 1, then $3m to play in the desert will be declined without blinking. Acosta also has a green card and there is the question of whether he wants citizenship (at which point, USMNT?). I think he would lose his status if he went to another league and lived abroad.
Well, they made a mistake with PSG. Better $ 3 millions now than nothing at the end of the year. And not he doesn’t wants to represent the US. He wants to go to Europe now and probably represent Argentina in the future.
This is clearly a very sensitive player, as Mauer’s piece demonstrates. But given the current state of the league and everything else considered, who cares? For reasons that need no explanation here