MLS team to swap MVP star for Brazilian sensation

As the new MLS season draws closer the trade business is heating up. There’s been a record-breaking incoming (Kevin Denkey) and a new record for the MLS outgoing transfer fee (Jhon Duran).

But incredibly, the biggest moves of the 2025 offseason are still to come. On Tuesday MLS Insider Tom Bogert revealed details of a huge blockbuster trade that sees two of the league’s top stars move on from their current teams.

FC Cincinnati star Luciano Acosta, the 2023 league MVP, is unhappy at TQL Stadium and looks set to leave for FC Dallas. Cincy are eying a move for Portland Timbers' wantaway star Evander, who ended 2024 with 15 goals and 19 assists in 28 MLS games. The moves will send shockwaves through MLS with just two weeks to go until the start of the 2025 season.

In recent years the standard of play has been elevated by greater resources, allowing teams to bring players to the league in their peak years and keep stars for longer. This year, one key change to the transfer system has been a watershed moment for MLS.

Teams spend big after trade changes

The MLS trade system differs from Europe’s major soccer leagues in that there are countless roster-building restrictions designed to keep the playing field level. In terms of internal trades, the wealthiest clubs have not been able to pluck the best talents from other teams. Each front office receives allocation money, roster slots and draft picks, which they can trade for players in the MLS market.

However a 2025 change to those rules has facilitated a flood of big-name deals. In January the league passed a new cash-based internal trade system that allows terms to use cash - revenue from commercial deals, ticket sales, external transfers - to buy MLS players. The move was designed to help top-tier players to remain in the league by giving clubs more control over spending.

The deal for Evander is thought to net Portland around $12 million plus add-ons. Cincinnati are expected to receive around $5 million plus add-ons for Acosta, a not-insubstantial amount for a 30-year-old who is agitating for a move away.

They are not the only players being traded using the new cash transfer system. USMNT international Jack McGlynn is leaving Philadelphia Union for Houston Dynamo. Reigning MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy have lost starting No. 9 Dejan Joveljic to Sporting Kansas City, a major coup for KC.

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