Homegrown player Lucatero signs deal with Mexican club

The Dynamo have lost perhaps the most prized homegrown player in franchise history.

Christian Lucatero recently signed a deal with Liga MX club Necaxa. His jump to Mexico’s top division comes just one month after the Dynamo offered him a United Soccer League contract.

Lucatero, a 20-year-old attacking midfielder who graduated from Pasadena High School, signed a homegrown contract with the Dynamo on Aug. 18, 2015. Under Major League Soccer’s homegrown player rule, clubs can directly sign local players from their development academies without them first being subjected to the draft.

Lucatero was the Dynamo Academy’s player of the year in 2013 and the players’ choice for top player in 2014. He was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Central Conference player of the year after scoring 26 goals in 27 games with the Dynamo Academy U-18 team in 2015. His 26 goals were tied for fifth in the nation.

Though he had an MLS contract through the end of 2017, he played for the Dynamo’s USL affiliate, Rio Grande Valley FC, in 2016 and 2017. He occasionally trained with the Dynamo but never played in an MLS or U.S. Open Cup game.

Lucatero, who has been selected to U.S. and Mexico national team camps, started in two of his 18 USL appearances in 2016. In 2017, he appeared in 15 matches and started seven times.

As part of a short direct message conversation with the Chronicle via Twitter, Lucatero said he felt like he was in a “tough situation.”

“I thought I was there to play and make mistakes and learn from them because in the end that’s how you get better — playing consistently and learning from mistakes,” Lucatero said. “So, to me, it just felt like developing me wasn’t important in a way.”

The Dynamo had one more option year on Lucatero’s contract for 2018 but declined it in favor of offering him a deal with Rio Grande Valley FC.

Dynamo general manager Matt Jordan said the club did not see Lucatero getting consistent minutes with the first team because of the attacking pieces it already has in Tomas Martinez, Mauro Manotas, Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto.

Jordan pointed to the success homegrown player Memo Rodriguez had with the same pathway to the first team. Rodriguez also was released from his homegrown contract before the 2016 season and offered a USL deal.

Rodriguez played nearly every game for Rio Grande Valley FC in 2016 and was its most productive attacking player. He received an MLS contract with the Dynamo in 2017. Rodriguez had two goals and one assist in nine MLS appearances before suffering an injury in September.

“It is a global game,” Jordan said. “Every MLS club goes through situations similar to this. We’re no different. Luca is a talented player. We respect his decision, and we wish him nothing but the best. He has a bright future. We understand the decision.

“This boils down to we didn’t see him getting consistent minutes. We felt it was important for him to get consistent playing time to keep developing.”

Consistent playing time is what convinced Lucatero to sign with Necaxa.

“I’m really excited because it’s a league I grew up watching,” Lucatero said. “I get to now be a part of a club that will give me the opportunity to keep getting better day in and day out and hopefully soon making my debut.”