Atlanta United announced today it has signed forward Lisandro López via a free transfer from Racing Club in the Argentine Superliga. López will be added to the roster pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa and will occupy an international roster spot.
“Lisandro is a veteran goalscorer who will strengthen our attack and we’re pleased to add a player with his experience and qualities to our club,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said. “He brings leadership and a winning mentality, having won various league and cup titles throughout his career, and we feel that he will have a positive influence on our younger roster.”
López, 37, joins Atlanta with more than 600 professional appearances and 244 goals scored at the club level while also featuring seven times for Argentina. He has won five league titles and five cup competitions during an 18-year career in Argentina, Portugal, France, Qatar and Brazil. His career totals include 455 first division appearances, in addition to 47 in the UEFA Champions League, six in the Europa League, 30 in Copa Libertadores and six in Copa Sudamericana. He spent the last five years playing for Racing Club in the Argentine Superliga, the club where he made his professional debut in 2003. López led Racing to the 2018-19 league title and was the top scorer in Argentina that season with 17 goals. He made 134 appearances and scored 48 goals across all competitions from 2016 to 2020.
The Rafael Obligado, Argentina native joined Racing in 2001 at the age of 18 and made his first division debut in 2003. He scored 26 goals in 71 league appearances from 2003 to 2005 and was the top scorer during the 2004 Apertura season when he scored 18 goals.
In April 2005, López signed with FC Porto in Portugal and helped the club win four consecutive Primeira Liga titles from 2005-06 to 2008-09. He led the league in goals during the 2007-08 campaign and was named the Primeira Liga Player of the Year, scoring a career-best 24 goals. In four seasons, López made 143 appearances for Porto and scored 62 goals, including 28 appearances and 13 goals in the UEFA Champions League, and won two Portuguese Cups and a Super Cup.
López joined Lyon in the summer of 2009 and scored on his Ligue 1 debut on Aug. 8. He scored twice in the first leg of Lyon’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup against Bordeaux, leading Lyon to the semifinals where it lost to Bayern Munich. Lyon finished second in Ligue 1 in 2009-10 as López scored 15 goals and was named Ligue 1 Footballer of the Year. He scored double-digit goals in each of his four league seasons in France and recorded 168 appearances and 82 goals across all competitions, including 19 appearances and six goals in the UEFA Champions League. He scored the only goal in the 2012 French Cup final against US Quevilly to win the title for Lyon.
In August of 2013, López signed for Al-Gharafa of the Qatar Stars League where he would score 16 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions between 2013-2015. In February of 2015, he joined Internacional in Brazil’s Serie A and went on to score 10 goals in 39 appearances before returning to his first club, Racing, in January of 2016.
López received his first call up to the Argentina National Team under coach José Pékerman and made his debut on March 10, 2005 in a friendly against Mexico. The striker made seven career appearances for Argentina and scored his only international goal on Aug. 12, 2009 in a friendly against Russia.
PLAYER PROFILE
Name: Lisandro López
Position: Forward
Birthdate: March 2, 1983 (age: 37)
Birthplace: Rafael Obligado, Argentina
Height: 5-9
Previous club: Racing Club
Citizenship: Argentina, Italy
Transaction: Atlanta United signed Lisandro López on Jan. 25, 2021
2021 Atlanta United roster (as of Jan. 25, 2021)
Goalkeepers (2): Brad Guzan, Alec Kann
Defenders (10): Mikey Ambrose, George Bello, George Campbell, Franco Escobar, Andrew Gutman^, Brooks Lennon, Fernando Meza, Efrain Morales, Miles Robinson, Anton Walkes.
Midfielders (10): Mo Adams, Ezequiel Barco, Machop Chol, Jürgen Damm, Emerson Hyndman, Marcelino Moreno, Jake Mulraney, Eric Remedi, Matheus Rossetto, Tyler Wolff.
Forwards (5): Jackson Conway, Adam Jahn, Erik Lopez, Lisandro Lopez, Josef Martinez
^ - on loan from Celtic
