FRISCO -- His face is everywhere, on billboards promoting matches home and away. No matter where he goes everyone wants to hear what he’ll say next.

He is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a charismatic and bombastic forward for the LA Galaxy who has helped teams to titles in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, France and England.

He is the kind of player the Galaxy sign. He is the kind of player FC Dallas fans are used to seeing only on the visiting team.

The 37-year-old is one of the latest megastars to come to MLS, and one of a plethora of big names who have signed for the Galaxy all-time. That makes it a clash of styles when the Galaxy come to Toyota Stadium to face FCD on Saturday afternoon.

While LA has built its team on glamour, FCD has made its identity as the club that signs a lot of homegrown players. It was a conscious decision by FCD owners Dan and Clark Hunt, who in their own days as club players in the DFW area saw first-hand the talent that exists in the region.

FCD lists nine homegrown players on its roster. LA has three active homegrowns.

“We had hoped we were going to be able to produce a lot of talent, and I think for us right now, we’re entering a really golden generation of players here at the club,” said Dan Hunt, who is also FC Dallas President. “We had hoped this could be our identity, and I think it’s exceeded expectations.”

Record signings

Brazilian soccer star Kaka made more than $7 million in 2017 for Orlando City. He is pictured here in 2014, when he joined MLS from AC Milan. (John Raoux / AP)

FCD may not have the luxury of being one of the league’s free-spending teams. Markets like LA turn the head of international soccer stars.

Ibra arrived to the Galaxy last season and played for a salary of $1.5 million -- the max allowed for a player of his caliber not filling a designated player spot. In effect, he gave the Galaxy a discount for the chance to play in LA -- and earn the marketing and advertising money that comes with being in that kind of media market.

This year he's making much more as a DP after a standout season that included 22 goals and 10 assists in 27 matches. ESPN reported in December, citing unnamed sources, the Swede will make between $7 million and $7.5 million in 2019. Brazilian star Kaka earned an MLS-record $7.167 million in total compensation for Orlando City two years ago, according to the latest data published by the MLS Players Association.

“Let’s be honest. If I had the chance to sign Zlatan for $1.5 million, I’m signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic. That’s without question. That would be a good decision for the club. But he wanted to go specifically to the Los Angeles market and that’s how it worked out,” Hunt said. “Obviously, his contract is different this year.

“I hear we don’t spend money and then we see the tables pop up and we’re in sort of the middle of the pack in spending.”

FCD ranked 11th in the league last year in team salary, according to data journalist Steve Fenn.

An Achilles injury has cast doubt over whether Ibra even will make the trip to North Texas this weekend, and French winger Romain Alessandrini remains out with a hamstring injury. That could mean just one designated player, Mexico midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, on the field for the Galaxy.

But new signings Joe Corona and Sebastian Lletget, both midfielders with U.S. national team call-ups, are expected to play.

Confusing rules

FC Dallas forward Cristian Colman was a designated player last year, but changes to how he is paid this season still falls under MLS' regulations. (Stewart F. House / Special Contributor)

MLS’ complicated -- and sometimes confusing -- salary rules are on full display on both rosters this weekend.

The Galaxy bought out Dos Santos’ brother, Gio, just before the season to make sure its roster was compliant.

Teams are allowed just three DPs -- players whose combined acquisition cost and salaries go over the maximum budget charge allowed by MLS regulations. The rule was introduced in 2007 to allow a team like the Galaxy, who wanted to sign David Beckham but couldn’t bring him in within the constraints of MLS’ salary cap, make a move for an international superstars.

There are now ways to functionally have more players of that caliber, which FCD had to do before the season to make sure it didn’t have four DPs. When a DP of a higher value, like midfielder Bryan Acosta, is acquired, existing DPs can have their charge against the cap bought down using Targeted Allocation Money -- or TAM. So, even though forward Cristian Colman was a DP last season, his salary will be viewed by the league as within regulation.

If it sounds confusing, it is. The point, though, is that while FCD often gets branded as a team that isn’t willing to spend, it has been willing to compete to sign players who might not be global superstars but are players the front office thinks can help win.

“We’ve spent millions of dollars on Bryan Acosta. We spent millions on Cristian Colman, he was in a really good moment. We spent millions of dollars on Santi Mosquera,” Hunt said. “It’s not like we’re not spending millions here on players who are coming through but we’re also trying to stay committed to our roots.”

Even so, FCD often has found itself struggling to match the star power other MLS teams have started to add. While current DPs Acosta, Mosquera and Pablo Aranguiz (who falls into a special category as a young DP) are solid players, they’re hardly the household names other teams are signing.

“When I was coaching, you had Beckham, (Landon) Donovan, Omar (Gonzalez, as LA’s DPs). On this side of the fence, you’ve got David Ferreira,” former FCD coach Schellas Hyndman said. “You often found yourself going against teams that roster-wise had more invested into them or had higher standards of on-the-field players.”

A clash of cultures

FC Dallas midfielder Jacori Hayes (15) slide tackles Bayern Munich midfielder Daniel Jelisic (32) during an exhibition at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer)

Current FCD head coach Luchi Gonzalez is relishing the challenge this weekend and looking forward to a clash of cultures that trickled down even to the academy fields.

“I think it’s great that it’s different,” Gonzalez said. “LA’s got their history. I have a lot of respect for the way they’ve operated as a club. They’ve got championships, they’ve got cups, they’ve got international cups. Lot of credit to them and their ambition and the way they run their teams year after year and with their signings.

“At the same time, I’m really proud of what I represent and what we represent here at FC Dallas with our way and our model, creating our history.”

The overlap between the two styles also is increasing, though.

The Galaxy are excited about 16-year-old Academy product Efrain Alvarez, who had an assist in last week’s win over the Chicago Fire, while Hunt this week raised the possibility of FCD’s partnership with Bayern Munich leading to a Bundesliga veteran playing in Frisco.

“There will be an FC Bayern Munich player here. That’s coming,” he said. “Whether it’s one of their prodigies, which I think they have some very special players, or whether it’s a player -- I don’t want the term aging star to ever be associated with a player we bring here. I want the term star. If you attach aging to it, I think we’re doing ourselves and the fans a disservice. If we’re going to go through that process, I want it to be a star.”

“The door is always open here. It’s got to be the right player for us to sign,” he continued. “Anybody who is going to help us win a championship, we’re going to make our best effort.”

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Designated players in 2019

FC Dallas hosts LA Galaxy on Saturday afternoon in what will be a clash of cultures for how the teams build their rosters. Here’s a look at the team’s current designated players:

FC Dallas

LA Galaxy

Highest paid players

The MLS Players Association released its 2018-19 MLS players salaries list in September. A look at the top five highest players in the league last year, based on total compensation:

Source: MLS Players Association

FC Dallas' highest paid players in 2018

Source: MLS Players Association