Thanks, Jesús Ferreira: Why FC Dallas traded home-grown star

It’s the end of an era for FC Dallas and Jesús Ferreira.

After 15 years in Dallas, Ferreira – the club’s second all-time leading scorer – will depart for the Seattle Sounders in exchange for winger Léo Chú, up to $2.3 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) and an international roster spot.

Ferreira’s time in Dallas was special. He joined the youth ranks as an 8-year-old when his father, David, signed with the club. And even when David’s fruitful time in Dallas ended, Jesús stayed to pursue his dream of becoming a prof. It didn’t take long. Ferreira signed a homegrown contract at the age of 15 and made his MLS debut the following season. At 16 years and 161 days, Ferreira became FC Dallas’ youngest debutant and youngest goalscorer on the same day.

“The Ferreira family has been a big part of this club for a long time,” FC Dallas president Dan Hunt said. “David came here in 2009 and had incredible success, winning the MVP here and taking us to the finals, truly one of the best players to play for FC Dallas. And when Jesús started in the youth system, I remember Chris Hayden (FCD Academy director) saying he would be a star, maybe even better than his father. Those are big, big shoes to fill, and yet I think Jesús filled them quite nicely.”

More success followed. In 2019, his first season as a starter, the 18-year-old Ferreira finished as Dallas’ top scorer. Two years later after a breakout campaign in 2021, he signed a Designated Player contract – becoming the first homegrown DP in league history. He soon repaid FC Dallas’ faith by recording his best season to date, scoring 18 goals to equal the club’s single-season record. The performance helped him follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming an MLS All-Star, another first in MLS history. Still only 21 at the time, Ferreira won MLS’s Young Player of the Year award and a place in the Best XI.

Ferreira’s outstanding season earned him a rare honor: a trip to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the US men’s national team. After a start in the first knockout round against the Netherlands, Ferreira became the first active FC Dallas player to play at a World Cup.

“Jesús represents what FC Dallas is all about,” said Chief Soccer Officer André Zanotta. “He came here at a very young age and started in our youth system, then played in our academy before making the first team and finally representing FC Dallas at the World Cup. He represents who we are and part of our goal, to develop top quality players for the US National Team and to grow the game of soccer in this country. We are proud of what we have achieved with Jesús.”

So with all his accolades and contributions over the years, why did FC Dallas feel the time was right to move on from Jesús Ferreira?

“This is something we have been discussing with Jesús and his agents for a while,” Zanotta explained. “Jesús has been at the club for a long time and he mentioned that he wanted to experience something new, to have a fresh start somewhere else. There was the feeling that he gave everything he could to help the club have good seasons. But he felt he needed another place where he could get another challenge in his career, new motivations, and we understood all those things. He is a player of enormous value to us, but we felt the deal with Seattle was the right one and we wish Jesús the best.”

Ferreira was also entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, so understanding his desire for a fresh start, FCD knew they needed to make a move this offseason to avoid further complications down the road. In return, the club receives up to $2.3 million GAM ($1 million for ’25, $500k for ’26 and $800ki incentives) as well as Léo Chú, the 24-year-old Brazilian winger who contributed seven goals and 14 assists in 46 starts for the Sounders.

“Léo is a young winger with a lot of speed and he’s had good seasons with Seattle,” Zanotta said. “When we discussed this deal with Seattle, we felt that Léo is someone who can help us be more vertical and more aggressive, as he can really hurt teams with his speed. With his contribution in the final third, I think he will be a great addition for us.”

With Ferreira leaving a designated player spot, FCD will move to the two DP, four U22 player model (instead of three DPs and three U22 players), a mechanism that gives the club an extra $2 million GAM. That, plus the added GAM from Seattle, gives Dallas extensive roster flexibility for future acquisitions. As it stands, Dallas’ two DPs are Petar Musa and Alan Velasco, while its U22 players are Geovane Jesus, Enes Sali and Léo Chú.

While saying goodbye to a player of Ferreira’s caliber and tenure is always bittersweet, the time has come for both sides to part ways and start afresh. Ferreira is likely to compete in this year’s FIFA Club World Cup with the Sounders, while Dallas will continue to rebuild under new head coach Eric Quill. Armed with a host of new players and increased roster flexibility, Dallas and Quill will look to hit the ground running in 2025.

“It was time for a fresh start and we had to make changes to achieve our aspirations,” Hunt said. “I know Jesús will be successful in Seattle and I feel really good about what we got in that trade. It will allow us to make an immediate impact on the roster, especially with the allocation money coming in to upgrade a number of positions.

“We are still not done with the transitions in the squad. We would like to add a few more players as we go along. But I will be eternally grateful to the Ferreira family for the time we have all spent together. I look forward to see them in the future, but I am incredibly optimistic about FC Dallas in 2025.”