The acquisition of Portuguese wing Pedro Santos speaks well of Crew SC ownership and management. It is an aspirational transaction. Chances are, it will work out better than the last designated-player acquisition. We shall see.

In the big picture, a reported $2.35 million transfer fee and a guess-timated $2 million (or more) in salary is not a big deal. As Santos was being introduced Tuesday, there was a rumor that Liverpool might be selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for $141 million. On this side of the pond, well-heeled markets in Major League Soccer — Atlanta, Seattle and Toronto, to name a few — have recently spent between $5 million and $7.5 million on individual transfer fees.

In the smaller picture, this is a big deal. The previous owners of the Crew were legendary for their miserly ways; it is part of the Massive ethos. The current owner, Anthony Precourt, has oft proclaimed his willingness to open his wallet. That is a difficult promise to make when you’re trying to run a team on a budget, which is paramount in markets where there is little money to burn. Precourt has now delivered.

The Crew has never spent more to buy a player’s rights. We don’t yet know the terms of Santos’ contract — the players' union will get around to that, sooner or later — but it is a virtual lock that he now owns the most lucrative contract in franchise history.

The Crew has, for the first time, filled all three of its designated-player slots: Federico Higuain ($1.05 million), Jonathan Mensah ($844,000) and Santos (TBA, but more than either of the other two).

Last week, Higuain, 32, said that this season would be his last with the Crew. The situation remains fluid. It might be that the Santos acquisition calls for Higuain to accept a pay cut, which is never easy for a prideful player to swallow. In any case, given Higuain’s age and his recent injury problems, an honest appraisal of where he fits is in order. The sides had some spirited discussions about his future just as Santos was preparing to fly to town.

As for Mensah, he is the highest-paid center back in the league, and … how shall we put this? He has yet to show his full value. We’ll put it like that.

Enter Santos. If you’re going to throw money at a player, he is the type.

Santos, 29, has played for Braga of the Portuguese Premier League since 2013. The league is among the 10 best in Europe. Braga has been in Portugual’s upper echelon and has qualified for UEFA Europa League play in recent seasons. Santos has been an important player and a team captain during this span.

Santos had 18 goals and 16 assists in 76 league games, and he made 15 appearances in Europa League games. To read the scouting reports, and to watch his highlights, is to understand that this is a gifted player who sometimes starred in high-level competition.

He is a left-footed right wing — a mirror of Justin Meram, you might say — and this duo of outside midfielders looks dynamic on paper. What is more, Santos might just be the key to unlocking the Crew’s set pieces.

Santos, who is 5 feet 6 and 139 pounds, is not a big dude. He is also coming off a broken foot, which is one reason his transfer fee dropped by more than a half in a year. There is some risk-reward here, but that is always present. I like the aspiration.

marace@dispatch.com

@MichaelArace1