Why signing Petar Musa is a big deal for FC Dallas

FC Dallas announced their big Designated Player signing Croatian forward Petar Musa on Thursday. The buzz of the signing can be felt everywhere, even though the team is currently in Spain for their preseason campaign.

The late Grant Wahl used to discuss in his annual Ambition Rankings how FC Dallas struggled to get players like this to come to North Texas. That all changes with this move. This is arguably the biggest move in club history.

Here are a few thoughts as to why this is the biggest player acquisition in FC Dallas history.

Nico Estevez discusses Petar Musa's impact on FC Dallas

There have only been a few players to come and go through Major League Soccer over the years that people would classify as a big deal. Most of that comes down to marketing and star power. Naturally, these are your David Beckhams, Lionel Messi, and Thierry Henrys.

Outside of that, only a few truly elite players have come through MLS over the years and were in their prime. Sebastian Giovinco comes to mind as someone who made a massive splash as a player still in his prime when he joined Toronto. Cucho Hernandez in Columbus is a good example of one right now.

Before Giovinco and Hernandez, a lot of in-prime players like this didn’t see MLS as a viable option for their careers. It was too ‘retirement-aged’ for them, or it would damage their chances to play on the international level again for their national teams. All of that has changed in recent years, and MLS is reaping the rewards for it.

Take Hernandez in Columbus again. He was on the outside of his national team when he moved from England when Watford was being relegated down a division. He could have easily stuck it out in England with another EPL side but would have likely not seen as much playing time. Instead, he comes to America, scores a bunch (25 goals in 43 games), gets an MLS Cup trophy and finds himself back in the national team picture in Columbia.

Seeing Musa choose FC Dallas over a Spanish team, an Italian team, or even an English team has to make you feel good as a fan.

In 2023, FC Dallas struggled to find the back of the net despite reaching the playoffs in Nico Estevez’s second season. Jesus Ferreira led the team in scoring with 12 goals but was largely radio silent at finding the back of the net from about the time the league resumed play from the Leagues Cup in August.