Why Ricardo Pepi left FC Dallas for German club Augsburg

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

When news broke New Year’s Day that 18-year-old U.S. national team forward Ricardo Pepi had signed with German squad Augsburg, it was something of a shock.

Pepi had long been expected to leave FC Dallas this month. As I wrote in November, he was determined to. But the destination seemed to come out of nowhere.

Brand-name clubs such as Ajax and Bayern Munich were interested, and for weeks, credible reports had Wolfsburg, which sits two points above 15th-place Augsburg in the 18-team Bundesliga standings, as the front-runner for Pepi.

Augsburg was never so much as a rumor. But according to Pepi's agent, the club had been in the mix for months.

"We’ve been working on this since the summer," Jaime Garcia said this week in an exclusive interview from the Bavaria city. "The feeling they transmitted to us from the beginning, with their honesty and persistence, was they really wanted Ricardo at this club no matter what. And they were willing to do what needs to be done to bring him in."

It took a cool $20 million, the richest transfer fee in Augsburg’s 115-year history and the most ever paid for a homegrown MLS player. And that wasn’t even the highest bid.

FC Dallas didn’t want to sell Pepi's contract — at least not right now. He just extended his deal in July, right before his spectacular USMNT debut sent his stock soaring. FCD would have preferred to keep the prized striker for the 2022 MLS season, then cash in after the year-ending 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Pepi had his heart set on leaving, though. So FC Dallas agreed — provided that the club's record-smashing asking price was met. With many clubs around the world still recovering from the heavy financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that was no small caveat. 

"It became a matter of finding the intersection between the right time for Dallas and what price and market possibilities fit those demands," Garcia said.

As Jan. 1 approached, several clubs tendered offers that met the threshold. From there, it was all about finding the best fit from a soccer perspective.

"There’s a World Cup coming," Pepi told FOX Sports in October. "I need to make sure that I’m playing. I don’t want to go sit on a bench. That’s basically what my decision is going to be based on."

Augsburg was the most attractive option for that reason. The sheer size of their investment guarantees that Pepi will be given every opportunity to succeed, which wouldn’t necessarily be the case on a more glamorous team. And with three critical World Cup qualifiers for the U.S. looming at the end of the month, it was also important to complete the transfer as soon as the month-long window opened.

Pepi could make his debut as soon as Saturday, when Augsburg kicks off the second half of the Bundesliga season against Hoffenheim. It will take a few weeks for him to get fully match fit; Dallas’ season ended in early November, and he has played just two national team matches since then. But he should be a regular after that.

"We’re pleased that he decided on FC Augsburg, especially over numerous well-known competitors," Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter said at a news conference following the official announcement. 

Germany has proven to be an ideal spot for young Americans to improve in recent years. Weston McKennie and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic began their professional careers there before being recruited by bona fide Champions League contenders. The Bundesliga is the current home of several other blue-chip USMNT up-and-comers, including Hoffenheim's Chris Richards, Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna and ‘Gladbach’s Joe Scally.

It’s a top-five league in the world, maybe even top-three. Yet the jump in speed of play, speed of thought and physically isn’t quite as pronounced as it would’ve been had Pepi gone to a team in the English Premier League, which was another of his options.

"He's ready for the next step in his career, and Augsburg and certainly the Bundesliga is a great league for him to make this next step," said U.S. boss Gregg Berhalter, who knows Reuter well, having been coached by him at 1860 Munich in the mid-2000s. "We’ve seen firsthand Ricardo’s ability to adapt to a higher level, and we’re confident he’ll be able to do that again."

Pepi seems to have made a good first impression:

Still, any bold move involves risk. Augsburg has managed just 17 goals in 17 games this season; the only two clubs with fewer are in the relegation zone. Pepi will be under immediate pressure to produce to keep the team in Germany’s top tier for a 12th consecutive year.

That’s a lot to ask of an 18-year-old arriving in a new country in the middle of a difficult season. But this was Pepi’s dream. It would have been easy for him to stay close to his family in Dallas for another year. He didn’t have to potentially jeopardize his starting spot with the USMNT to leap head-first into the unknown.

"I wanted to do it this year because I believe I’m ready," he told ESPN Deportes after the deal was completed.

Now he must prove it.

"He needs to continue to develop and learn in an extremely competitive environment," Garcia said. "That’s why he’s here. And he’s ready to grind his tail off."

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.