LAFC announced today that the Club has signed Honduran defender Denil Maldonado on loan through the 2023 MLS season with an option to exercise a permanent transfer from Honduran team CD Motagua.
The 24-year-old Honduran National Team Member will be added to LAFC’s roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) sand P-1 Visa.
“Denil is a strong, talented defender with considerable international experience and has captained teams to success,” said LAFC Co-President and General Manager John Thorrington. “He will provide great versatility and quality to our strong back line, We are excited to welcome Denil to LAFC and appreciate the support and collaboration from Montagua as well as his representative.”
On the international stage, Maldonado has made 21 appearances for the Honduran National team, including playing in nine 2022 World Cup Qualifying matches and appearing in three games at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The defender began playing for Honduras at the U-17 level and made his senior team debut as a 21-year old on Sept. 6, 2019, in a 4-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Maldonado joins LAFC after earning three championships with CD Motagua (2018-19 Apertura & Clausura and 2021-22 Clausura). The Tegucigalpa native played three seasons with CD Motagua from 2018-2022, making a total of 116 appearances and scoring five goals and registering two assists across all competitions, including three appearances in the Concacaf Champions League .
Maldonado joined Liga MX side Club Pachuca on loan from Motagua in 2019, where he made three appearances in the Copa MX. Maldonado then joined CD Everton in Chile’s first division on loan for the 2020-21 season. He registered one goal and one assist in 19 appearances (13 starts) for CD Everton before returning to Motagua.
Transaction: Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) acquires defender Denil Maldonado on loan through the 2023 MLS season with an option to exercise a permanent transfer from Honduran team CD Motagua.
