FRISCO, Texas—FC Dallas confirmed Thursday they turned down San Lorenzo’s offers for attackers Maxi Urruti and Michael Barrios, declining a combined bid of $5 million from the Argentine club.
According to FCD technical director Fernando Clavjio, who spoke to MLSsoccer.com before the decision to turn down the offers was made, keeping Urruti and Barrios came down to timing. Dallas, of course, are in the midst of a playoff push, with the scuffling club now seventh in the West thanks to a six-game winless run.
If Dallas sold Urruti and Barrios, they would’ve been shipping out their leading scorer and leading assist man. For Clavijo and the club, that clearly wasn’t a palatable option with so much left to play for in 2017.
"We're going through a good time and teams would really like to have our players," Clavijo said on Wednesday. "That's something we have to be aware of, and because of the challenges with the calendar, we have to be very careful in what we do. We want to be a team that sells players when they have an opportunity, and give younger players the chance to play more. At the same time, we have to be careful what we do at crucial times of the year. It's a very difficult time right now, when the team is struggling for points, if your top scorer and assist leader may be going somewhere else. It's not an easy decision, it's a decision we have to make for the best for everyone."
Clavijo also expressed a belief that other leagues undervalue MLS talent.
"I don't think MLS player values are where they need to be," he said. "I think our prices are going to go up with the rest of the world. The quality of the players is there. I think we're going in the right direction, but it will take a little longer."
Urruti and Barrios weren’t the only FC Dallas players that drew interest this summer. It was confirmed by FC Dallas owner and president Dan Hunt that there had been several European teams in touch regarding midfielder Kellyn Acosta, without an offer placed as of yet.
"We haven't received a formal offer on Kellyn," Hunt said. "There's been chatter about it, but I've not received a formal written offer on him. We'll see, we'll evaluate it at the end of the year. My message is simple: I'm a realist and players do leave. As long as they leave at the right time, and we can continue to make FC Dallas better by reinvesting the money and try to be smart about what we're doing."
Acosta had told MLSsoccer.com that he would prefer to move to Europe in the summer window, but has stated several times that he's in no rush to leave his hometown club just yet.
