LAFC announced today that the club has re-signed defender Sergi Palencia to a three-year contract extension through 2028 with an option for 2029 and 2030.
“Sergi represents the competitiveness and commitment that we value at LAFC,” said Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington. “His tenacity, consistency, and reliability on the field make him a key piece of our team, while his relentless drive and dedication to this club set the standard for his teammates. Re-signing Sergi to a long-term contract is a recognition of those qualities, and we are grateful to continue building with him as we pursue more trophies for Los Angeles. I would also like to thank Kosti and Sergio from his management team for their support throughout the process.”
Palencia, 29, originally signed with LAFC in 2023 from French Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Étienne, where he played with current LAFC teammate Denis Bouanga. He has made over 100 appearances for the Black & Gold across all competitions and scored his first goal for the club on April 12, 2025. Since 2023, Palencia has played in 76 MLS regular-season matches (65 starts) and played over 5,000 minutes, registering 10 assists and one goal.
Palencia started all three games for LAFC at the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this season, and has played in four Finals with the club, helping LAFC win the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy.
A product of FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia Youth Academy, Palencia first joined Barça in 2007 at 11 years old and proceeded to make a total of 103 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona B from 2015-2019, scoring two goals and registering eight assists. Palencia won the U-19 UEFA Youth League Championship with Barcelona U-19 in 2013-14.
In 2018, Palencia joined Barcelona’s senior team before being loaned to French Ligue 1 side FC Girondins Bordeaux with whom he made his first division debut vs. Toulouse on Aug. 19, 2018. Overall, he made 31 appearances and registered three assists across all competitions for Bordeaux, including playing in three Europa League contests.
He moved to Saint-Étienne on a permanent transfer from FC Barcelona in the summer of 2019.
The Badalona, Spain, native has two international caps for Spain’s U-21 squad and made his debut for his country in 2018 in a UEFA U-21 Champions League qualifying match.
TRANSACTION: LAFC re-signs defender Sergi Palencia to a multi-year contract extension through 2028 with an option for 2029 and 2030.
