United States men’s national team striker Jesus Ferreira was close to a move to Russian club Spartak Moscow before Major League Soccer stepped in to veto the deal, according to The Athletic. FC Dallas received a $13 million bid for Ferreira which would’ve been accepted as Ferreria reportedly also wanted the move, but due to all MLS deals needing to go through the league as opposed to going through clubs like the rest of the world, the league was able to reject the deal.
According to The Athletic, the reasoning given to Dallas was that there are risks with an American business doing business with Russian entities. With the United States placing sanctions on dealings with Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, it’s complicated territory for the exchange of money to go between the United States and Russian businesses. Spartak Moskow is also owned by Lukoil, a company that has been subject to sanctions by the United States Treasury.
Currently fifth in the Russian Premier League, the club also would be unable to compete in UEFA competitions due to a ban placed on Russian clubs as a result of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Neither the league nor Dallas provided a comment as of Wednesday night but it does place Ferrerira in a tough spot. In 141 matches for Dallas, Ferrerira has scored 48 goals and assisted 28 more putting the 23-year-old in a prime position to make a move for the next step in his career but it doesn’t seem like Russia will be that step at this time.
With the Nations League semifinals and Copa America on the horizon, Ferreira’s next move will be a critical one as he is competing with his former FC Dallas teammate Ricardo Pepi as the backup striker for the national team. Dallas are also no stranger to complicated transfers after right back Reggie Cannon‘s move to Boavista in Portugal. Dallas weren’t paid by the club leading to the case going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport who then ruled in favor of Dallas. But even with that ruling, the deadline for payment was still missed.
It’s unknown what the next steps will be for Ferreira and Dallas but their season is set to begin on Feb. 24 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
