Ruan came to FC Dallas in the summer following the club’s exit from the Leagues Cup tournament. CF Montreal had a bit of a fire sale on their summer at the end of the summer transfer window, and FC Dallas took the chance on a player they had wanted for a few years. 

By the end of the season, Ruan appeared in six matches with FC Dallas while missing the final two games with an injury.

Stat breakdown

He finished the season with two goals and four assists. Two of his goals and three of his four assists came during his time in Montreal, while he assisted on one goal for FC Dallas in his debut against D.C. United. 

The one thing not listed in the chart above his the distance this guy covers on the field. Ruan ranked fifth in MLS in distance covered sprints in possession 8.12 miles (13.07 KM).

When you really break his stats down, he’s a winger, not a defender. You could call him a fullback if you want but the more you look into how he plays along the wings, he’s a winger in my book. Maybe that is due to the systems he’s played in over the last couple of seasons. 

Highlight

Yeah, Ruan didn’t score there, but you can see his speed and ability on the wings in full display there. 

Will he be back in 2025?

Based on his MLSPA salary of $440k, he’s not a super expensive player, but he’s also not super cheap. He will turn 30 next season, which is something to also keep in mind.

A lot of this will come down to whether FC Dallas plans to stick it out with a 3-4-3 formation in 2025 or move back to something like a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Final thoughts

While I liked what Ruan brought to the table in terms of his speed and attacking abilities from the wings, he’s not exactly a guy who adds to the quality of your team’s defense. He lost about half of the duels he faced in 2024, had 12 interceptions and two blocks. His speed does allow him to recover a lot. He had 132 recoveries in 2024. 

I think his status on the roster largely depends on the system the team plans to run in 2025. 

My gut tells me the club will bring him back in 2025 simply because the Hunts have wanted him here for so long (they wanted to get him back in 2019). We’ve seen them do this before with players, and the results have always been a bit mixed.