FC Dallas Acquires Goalkeeper Daniel from the San Jose Earthquakes
FC Dallas has acquired goalkeeper Daniel from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for up to $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM): $300,000 in 2026 GAM, $400,000 in 2027 GAM and up to $300,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance metrics are met.
Daniel will occupy a senior roster spot and holds a U.S. green card, meaning he will not occupy an international roster slot.
Daniel joins FC Dallas after three seasons with San Jose, where he made 77 regular-season appearances from 2023-26. In 2026, the Brazilian goalkeeper started 15 matches and matched a career high five shutouts. During his first MLS season in 2023, Daniel ranked second among goalkeepers with at least 1,800 minutes played in saves per 90 minutes (3.88).
Prior to joining MLS, Daniel made 83 appearances for Sport Club Internacional from 2017-22, recording 37 clean sheets while conceding 74 goals. He began his career in the youth academy of União Rondonópolis.
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BDS Take
I discussed this a bit last week when this was still a rumor, but now we have a clearer picture of what kind of money was involved here.
We knew Dallas had the GAM to spend, and while they had been spending fairly lightly on their goalkeepers this year, Daniel changes that equation quite drastically.
On paper, Daniel has been a solid keeper this season in San Jose. When you compare him to the existing keepers for Dallas (Michael Collodi and Jonathan Sirois), you get a sense of why the club opted to make this move.
Sirois doesn’t have enough minutes to properly compare the two, but against Collodi you can see that Daniel has a higher rank in key areas such as goals prevented, saves per match and save percentage.
I also think that he’s been working with a defense that is a tad weaker than what FC Dallas has these days, so those numbers should only get better when he becomes a starter.
On the money side, Collodi and Sirois combined make just under $400k, whereas Daniel earns closer to $800k. My gut tells me they’re only on the hook for a half portion of that for 2026, and Daniel’s current deal runs through this season. He has options for next year, which could force the club to make some moves to lower that salary cap impact.
Look, no one had this kind of move on their radar or bingo card for FC Dallas this summer. I know I certainly did not. I thought, if anything, they’d land another young third-string keeper and let Sirois and Collodi battle it out.
Now…geez, now you have three capable starters. I kind of worry about what this means for Collodi going forward, as he looked good enough in most matches this season. We know FCD’s scouting department has a soft spot for Brazilian players, so this was probably one of those moves that was too good for the club to not jump on when the offer came over.
BigSoccer.com
