In January 2019, Luciano Acosta was riding the crest of a wave.

The Argentine playmaker’s combination with Wayne Rooney had just helped lift D.C. United off the floor of the Eastern Conference and right into the MLS Cup Playoffs, with Acosta ending the 2018 MLS regular-season with 10 goals and 15 assists in 33 appearances.

So impressive was Acosta’s form that it emerged Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain were preparing to sign him for an eight-figure sum right at the end of the January 2019 transfer window. Acosta had traveled to France to get the deal over the line, even completing a medical before the move broke down. Manager Thomas Tuchel was accused of vetoing the deal, before reports emerged revealing that a dispute between the two teams was to blame.

Acosta has since turned out for Atlas in Liga MX before returning to Major League Soccer to become FC Cincinnati’s chief playmaker. The 27-year-old is rightly worshipped at TQL Stadium and appears utterly content in Ohio.

Still, he cannot help but look back on the failed move to PSG with some level of regret.

“When I watch PSG games, it’s hard not to think that I could have been there,“ he told MLSsoccer.com recently.

Thankfully, Acosta has received help getting over the disappointment of that failed transfer. He’s now able to take a more relaxed view of the situation, even if there is still a hint of regret.

„I think nowadays my head is very calm, with people who help me,“ he added. „It is a topic I have been working on with my mental coach, to try to manage those things. But I can’t lie and say that I don’t wonder why I’m not there, but today it’s not as much as it was before.“

Acosta isn’t just burying the past in Cincinnati; he’s thriving.

The former Boca Juniors man has 12 goals and nine assists to his name in 42 appearances for the Orange and Blue so far, helping them sit sixth in the East this season after finishing rock-bottom overall in their opening three campaigns. Acosta also regularly appears at the top in MLS across key metrics such as chances created and dribbles completed.

Acosta’s influence and growth in Cincinnati has been so drastic that he’s also taken on the mantle of club captain – a role he was initially unsure of, but has grown into nicely.

“My way of playing hasn’t changed; it’s always the same. But I have assumed much more responsibility as captain. It was new being the captain in such a new team, it was all a process last year and now that process is bearing fruit this year,” he said. “I try to speak with teammates to give them support by talking to each one in the locker room, on the field, and also serving as an example; running and working for the team.

“Last year it was all new for me being the captain for the first time and I learned in this process that I have to lead the group more, that I had to change my mentality more, my way of speaking with teammates, pumping them up, things like that.”