SAN DIEGO — A month after Mexican star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano said “my mentality is to be here” with San Diego FC, the club had a different message for the man regarded as the face of the franchise in its inaugural season:

Adios.

Sporting director Tyler Heaps announced Friday that the 30-year-old left wing is no longer in the club’s plans and will be sold or loaned to another club as soon as possible. In the meantime, he will remain with the team during preseason camp but train on the side.

“Hirving is a fantastic player,” Heaps said. “There’s no doubt about it. You look at his career and what he’s been able to contribute, and also what he was able to do last season.

“But I think this is about a lot more than that, when you talk about the collective here and making sure we have every player bought into what we’re trying to do, whether that’s before training or during training. … We think it’s best for both parties to find a new solution.”

Coach Mikey Varas was more succinct: “Holistically, all together, it’s not a fit.”

SDFC acquired Lozano from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven for a reported $12 million transfer fee, then signed him to a four-year contract worth $7.6 million last season. He had nine goals and 10 assists in 27 appearances, 22 of them starts — decent numbers that were overshadowed by Danish winger Anders Dreyer, who played on the opposite flank and was named Major League Soccer newcomer of the year after 19 goals and 19 assists.

Lozano’s season went south on Oct. 4, when he was subbed at halftime trailing 1-0 at Houston and had a locker-room meltdown that involved verbally undressing Varas.

Lozano was left home for the final regular-season game at Portland, then didn’t suit up for the playoff opener. He played in the next four playoff games in the run to the Western Conference final but as a sub off the bench despite making $1 million more than all the players starting ahead of him combined.

Lozano was not made available to the media Friday. On Instagram, he changed his profile from a video showing him back at the club’s East County training facility to a photo of him in an SDFC jersey, pointing at the crest.

Heaps and Varas insisted the club’s decision was not based solely on the locker-room incident but was formulated — and communicated to Lozano — over the course of months. There was also an exit meeting before a short offseason break, then another this week when Lozano returned for training camp ahead of the SDFC’s two-game series against Mexican City club Pumas UNAM in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

“It wasn’t something that happened overnight,” Heaps said. “This is something we’ve talked about for a long period of time and understand there are financial implications that are involved.”

SDFC is likely to take a significant bath on the deal, either from a reduced transfer fee for a player entering the twilight of his career or a loan deal where the club would absorb a significant portion of his salary.

Lozano is desperately trying to make Mexico’s roster for the 2026 World Cup, and to have a chance, he needs to play regular soccer at a high level. Liga MX figures to be the most likely landing spot instead of a trip back to Europe, where teams are in midseason.

“At the moment, we’re open for anything,” Heaps said of a transfer or loan. “We believe a sale is best for all parties.”

How did Lozano take the news?

“He was fine, took it in a professional way, as we would expect,” Heaps said.

“He accepted it,” Varas said.

SDFC may have tipped its plans with two key offseason moves: the club re-signed 35-year-old Amahl Pellegrino and acquired Lewis Morgan from the New York Red Bulls.

Pellegrino came from San Jose on an expiring contract in August and initially played as a central striker before flourishing at left wing when he replaced Lozano. Morgan can also play up top, but historically has been deployed as a left wing in MLS and with the Scottish national team.

Asked how they’d adjust without Lozano, Varas said:

“What did we do in playoffs when we made a run, you know? We kept chugging along. We’re going to be who we are. Amahl’s numbers were off the chart at the end of the season from a winger perspective — top player, top human being, top teammate, top professional. Lewis is a player who has already shown in the league that when he’s healthy, he’s a big-time contributor.”

Once Lozano is offloaded, the club is expected to pursue another designated player who doesn’t count against the MLS salary cap. Heaps said SDFC has received interest for Dreyer but is committed “to keep him here for a long time.”

That leaves the other three attacking positions as likely targets for a high-profile acquisition, either in the current January transfer window or the longer, post-World Cup summer window.

“The problem is,” Heaps said, “those are normally the most expensive players in the world and sometimes the hardest to acquire.”

Given his Mexican roots and the club’s desire to cultivate a largely untapped Mexican-American fan base in San Diego, Lozano quickly became the de facto face of the franchise. His signing was celebrated with a well-attended event at the Rady Shell on the waterfront, complete with Latin musical acts and a grand introduction complete with pyrotechnics.

When he merely walked on the field for pre-game warmups at Snapdragon Stadium, fans would chant, “El Chucky Lozano.”

There have been only a handful of Mexican players of his stature in MLS, and finding another may prove difficult.

“We are for sure looking at Mexico at the moment,” Heaps said. “The problem is sometimes those players become very expensive, very quickly.”

And the message to fans who supported the team largely because of Lozano?

“I hope they can see what we were able to do last year, and that’s with him and without him,” Heaps said. “He wasn’t available for every game, he didn’t play in every game, there was a playoff run where he played kind of a minor role in it.

“The message is: We’re here to win. But what’s really important is how we win and who we win with, making sure we’ve got the right pieces, making sure this is about the collective, making sure we come out and play as one. That will give us the best chance to win, not only next year but in years to come.”

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