Why FC Cincinnati has to make a deal with FC Dallas to potentially get Weston McKennie

For most FC Dallas fans, losing out on former Academy player Weston McKennie was always seen as a major blow to the club. The two sides never got on the same page about a Homegrown deal in 2016 when the midfielder turned 18 and opted to go to German’s Schalke instead.

McKennie has continued to some success in Europe, having spent several years with Schalke and, more recently, with Juventus in Italy.

But it appears that his time in Italy is coming to an end. His new manager, Thiago Matta, told him he ‘doesn’t plan to rely on his services’ for the 2024-25 campaign, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.

There are reports that McKennie could be returning to America with FC Cincinnati. The Ohio-based club is looking to make an incredibly ambitious offer to Juventus to secure the US national team player.

Even if Cincinnati is able to make their offer work for McKennie, they will have to secure one small thing first: his MLS player rights from FC Dallas.

According to The Athletic’s Tom Bogert, per the league’s rules, since FC Dallas made a Homegrown offer to McKennie back in 2016, they have retained his MLS rights and will have to be compensated as a result.

This likely means that FC Dallas will secure some general allocation money, or GAM, as a result of any potential transfer for McKennie.

The sum of that will be very interesting to sort out. Some of the higher player’s rights trades in MLS history include D.C. United acquired (now current FC Dallas midfielder) Paul Arriola’s rights from the LA Galaxy in 2017 for $300k in GAM as well as $200k in TAM (targeted allocation money).

First of all, MLS player’s rights are a really dumb thing that teams are still trading around in 2024. But for these purposes, we’ll play the part. Some may recall that when FC Dallas signed Petar Musa earlier this year, they had to send some GAM over to New England for his discovery rights. So, it is kind of along those lines here with this.

Secondly, I think it would be a massive shame that FC Dallas isn’t at the table to discuss trying to bring McKennie home as a player. I get the potential transfer money, which would be tough for the Hunts to get behind after shelling out nearly $10 million earlier this year for Musa. As of this writing, we don’t know what Cincinnati is preparing to offer Juventus for McKennie, but seeing as how they paid a reported $22 million for the Little Elm native back in 2011, it may be a pretty high fee for any MLS side to do.

Lastly, as much as I would love to see a player like McKennie in MLS these days, I don’t think his time in Europe is complete. Personally, I would love to see him go back to Germany or maybe even France for a couple of seasons before returning to America. I always assumed a guy like him would make his way to MLS after the 2026 World Cup. That timing makes more sense than in 2024.