In 2016, FC Dallas’ payroll became one of the deepest signifiers in history of what it is to succeed in a capped league. Or at least one of the avenues.

In both base salary and total guaranteed compensation, FC Dallas was the cheapest team in the league in 2016 by the time the first salary dump was released that May. In fact, in total compensation FC Dallas spent almost a full $1 million less than anyone else in all of MLS. Fronting a small ball approach that values homespun Homegrowns and value buys on the South American transfer market, all FC Dallas did was snare a Supporter’s Shield/U.S. Open Cup double. Taking into account the relative crapshoot that is the MLS postseason, the SS is probably the most coveted (and hardest to win) trophy in the league.

At the center of FC Dallas’ rewriting of the formula – the club has essentially stood long-held notions of free spending on their head – is Fernando Clavijo, the club’s transfer market guru. At the head of a small group of well-connected staffers, Clavijo’s worn thin the path to nations like Colombia, Argentina and Brazil in an effort to woo top young players to Frisco. And by and large, the formula’s worked.

I recently sat down with Clavijo to mine into arguably the most distinct and successful build model in the league’s history. How does he approach players? When he does, what’s their general perception on MLS? How has it changed? And if he had a magic wand, how much more money does he want to compete with the best of the best in all the Americas?

That and more in our Q&A.



Compared to when you first started at FC Dallas, where is the league now from the vantage of attracting players you come across?

“It’s getting better every year. We can always ask for more, there’s no question about it. But I think right now, the numbers are to the point that we can compete with teams around the world for players. Can we do better? Of course. I think the flexibility right now for us has gotten better with TAM. There’s a lot of things we can do, but it definitely is much better than it was in the past.”

What was is like then, as a GM, and what is it like now on the recruiting trail?

“It was very difficult. Every time you go after an international and you’re competing with other teams from around the world, and it was very hard to compete. Today, specifically we went down (to South America), we were talking to (Cristian) Colman and we had teams from all over, from Mexico, from Brazil, and we’re talking about first class teams, big time teams, and we were able to be equals and bargain for the player with space in our cap, with an opportunity because of TAM to do things and be able to bring him around. Today I would say it’s 90 percent better than it was in the past, without a doubt.”

How difficult a league is MLS for young GMs? And what awaits them on the transfer market in terms of attitudes toward the league?

“Sometimes you will pay the price as a young (GM). And the more money you have, the better flexibility you have to bring players in. You can spend money and go out and pretty much just price players out of anybody else. Before, the only thing we had better (than other leagues) was the league was growing and the quality of life in America. Today, we have a league that is better than 80 percent of the leagues around the world, and the quality of life keeps improving in the United States compared to countries around the world. That is a big thing for the players today.

“You needed to convince players before to come to the United States, now the players want to, and they look at us as a first choice. Before, I was a second or third choice for them because they couldn’t go other places. The league is recognized everywhere. When you have that and the money and the quality of life and look at the quality of the league with stadiums and fields, it’s a win-win for all of them, for all the players coming to the new league.”

Andrea Pirlo recently made some comments about relaxing the cap and maybe getting rid of it to compete with the likes of China. What’s your take on the current state of the MLS salary limits as a GM?

“Let me put it this way. As a former player – I played 22 years as a professional – and I saw probably seven or eight leagues folded in the United States. I can tell you that in 2000, if it was not a salary cap, MLS would probably not be here today. As much as I look at it as a player, and I want to be able to compete and make the best money available, I’m also realistic that if you don’t control the expense it’s very difficult to keep the team rolling.

“Pirlo, nobody’s going to say or argue the knowledge he has all over the place. But I think he’s seeing things as a player, as an incredible player he was. But I think reality escapes him a little bit on what it is to run a business, to run a franchise in the United States more than anything else. I said all along, I think little by little they’re going to loosen up, but at the end of the day if there was not a salary cap in place, I don’t know if the league would’ve grown the way it has. That’s my opinion after 40 years in this country playing for every single league you can think about in America.”

What do you think would happen if MLS took the reins off and got rid of the salary restrictions. Would there be more of a competitive gap between teams?

“In my personal opinion as a manager for FC Dallas, I think you’re going to have teams going out and spending more money for players you can get today for less. That’s an unfortunate situation. China’s not real. China, something’s going to happen. China’s only competing with China right now. It’s a different market. It’s hard to understand what’s going on or how long that’s going to last there. We keep growing, without a doubt, and without a cap in the United States when all the owners are competitive, I think the salary cap is also to protect from each other, not over-spending.

“I understand the players, I understand anyone who is part of that – agents – that they would like to have more money to move around. But I don’t believe that it is the solution. I think that maybe raising (the cap) without a doubt, but always monitoring it to make sure everybody has the means to pay the money they’ve allocated to the players and things like that.

“You’ve got to remember, there’s not a salary cap on any teams in South America. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I can guarantee you that most of those teams are late in payments every month, and all the players are six months, five months late in receiving a check. That’s a clear path to disaster. I prefer to be able to spend less money and make sure those players can plan ahead and make sure those players know exactly when they’re going to get the money and not necessarily be guessing when they’re going to get paid.”

If MLS came to you and asked you how much more money annually you’d like to have to play with to compete for better players, what would you tell them?

“One thing (I’d say) is how competitive it is in the international market to try to bring players in, number one. Number two, (I’d ask) what are you trying to do? Are you competing only to compete in MLS, or like ourselves, we’re trying to compete internationally – competitively in four tournaments at the same time – so of course you should have the freedom to do a little bit more to compete with leagues like Mexico and any other place around the world. Then again, can you do it with less? Yes, you can do it with less. One hundred percent.

“You look at it today, what else can I do money-wise? And I would say anywhere between two and a half and five million dollars more, it would be probably an ideal situation. Somewhere – and I’m talking about my budget – we have a group here looking every day how we can improve that with TAM and allocation and everything, and we can do all of that to accommodate our players and try to bring in more players. So yeah, two and a half to five million dollars more, I think we can definitely be in a place where we can compete with anyone in the Americas as a club. Without a doubt.”