Ricardo Pepi joins FC Ausgburg for record-breaking transfer

The new year didn’t wait long to start surprising the soccer world, as Ricardo Pepi will join Bundesliga, but not Bayern Munich or Wolfsburg, as reports suggested. Augsburg will be his destination for a record-breaking transfer of $20 million.

Although everyone knew Pepi was not going to play another minute for Dallas, or on the MLS for what matters, there was still uncertainty about where he will end up playing in 2022.  Everything was pointing towards Wolfsburg, who was bidding the hardest for the Mexican American forward.

According to reporter Fabrizio Romano, Augsburg ended up offering a lot more than Dallas was expecting, as they valued the young player between 12-15 million. After receiving Augsburg’s offer, they couldn’t say no.

Pepi’s deal will be the highest Augsburg has paid for a player in its history, as previous record was established on the 2016/2017 season, when they bought center-back Martin Hinteregger out of Red Bull Salzburg for a fee of $11.5 million.

Pepi and his agent flew today to Germany, and he will be presented as Augsburg’s newest player once he clears medical tests.

How much playing time will Pepi have in Bundesliga?

Former Dallas striker was looking for an option overseas where he would have enough playing time so he could keep improving his skills, especially on a year where FIFA World Cup is set to be played in Qatar.

Augsburg is currently standing 15 on Bundesliga, just outside relegation zone, and their strong bidding for Ricardo Pepi really shows how much trust they have on the 18-year-old forward and the immediate impact he can have for the squad.

On the current season, Augsburg have a deficit of -9 goals, as they’ve only scored on 17 occasions but have received 26 goals, something that the hope Pepi will help them turn around as soon as next week, when he can debut for his new team.

Not the only American in Augsburg

Although Ricardo Pepi will be the only American in the squad, he’s not the only one in Augsburg’s facilities, as the Bundesliga team has an American investor, David S. Blitzer, who might be the main reason behind Pepi’s signing with the team.

Blitzer is a shareholder in multiple teams from a wide range of sports, as he also co-manager partner and minority owner of teams such as New Jersey Devils of the NHL, Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and Crystal Palace FC of the English Premier League.

He also invested in Waasland-Beveren, a team that plays in the Belgian soccer league Jupiler Pro League and even has a eSports company called Dignitas, based in New Jersey.

Pepi’s numbers in 2021

Ricardo Pepi made his debut with Dallas FC on 2020, where he played 17 games during the regular season but only started on four of them and he was able to score only 2 goals.

2021 was his breakout season, as he played 31 games, starting on 24 of them. He managed to score 13 goals and two assistances over the course of 2.099 minutes, something that he will try to replicate with his new team.

He also debuted with the USMNT after Gregg Berhalter called him for the FIFA Qualifiers, where he played six games and score a goal on his debut against Honduras. On seven games he’s played for the Stars and Stripes he’s scored three times and assisted on three other occasions.