FRISCO, Texas (Friday, June 24, 2016) – FC Dallas has reached an agreement with Chivas Guadalajara to transfer Homegrown midfielder Alejandro Zendejas to the Liga MX side, the club announced today.
“It’s a great representation of our model here,” said FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja. “Alex came into the Academy from an alliance we have with El Paso. He’s played for the youth national team, the first team and now he’s being sold to one of the most popular clubs in the world and that’s amazing.”
Zendejas, 18, signed as FC Dallas’ 13
th
Homegrown player on Oct. 1, 2014, after joining the FC Dallas Academy in 2012. The midfielder was the first player signed from one of FCD’s youth affiliates, FC Dallas El Paso. FC Dallas El Paso became a youth affiliate of the MLS club on Sept. 26, 2011.
“I want to thank everyone at FC Dallas from the players to the coaching staff who taught me so much,” said Zendejas. “I have grown so much in Dallas as a player and a person and I will always be proud and grateful to say I'm from the FC Dallas Academy. Thank you to the fans for their support. I’ll always remember my time in Dallas.”
Zendejas made his MLS debut against Seattle Sounders FC as a 17-year-old on June 13, 2015. He totaled 187 minutes in eight league appearances last season. That total includes the second start of his MLS tenure, an eventual 3-0 win against 2015 MLS Cup finalist Columbus Crew on Sept. 6, 2015.
The El Paso native’s most recent call up was to the U.S. Under-20 National Team. Zendejas was one of only three players to play every minute for the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in October of 2015.
