LOS ANGELES (Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019) – The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has acquired 23-year-old forward Cristian Pavón on loan from Argentina’s Club Atlético Boca Juniors. Pavón, who played in every match for Argentina during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, joins the club after playing in Argentina’s top-flight division since 2012. He was acquired through the use of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) and will be added to the roster pending receipt of his P1-Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“Cristian is a young and dynamic attacking addition who has the talent to be one of the most effective offensive players in Major League Soccer,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese. “He is a high-caliber player who will be a valuable piece to our roster moving forward. By providing him with a stable environment and a coach he knows well, we are confident that he can continue to grow and improve as a player within our club. We are extremely excited to add him to our squad and look forward to his contributions with the LA Galaxy.”
Pavón has spent the majority of his career playing in Argentina’s top-flight division, the Superliga, while representing Club Atlético Talleres, Club Atlético Colón and Club Atlético Boca Juniors during his time as a professional. In that span, he has amassed over 100 appearances with 60 combined goals and assists. During that time, Pavón captured the Argentine Primera División title three times while also winning a Copa Argentina and Supercopa Argentina. Internationally, the winger has made 11 appearances for the Argentina National Team, including four appearances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Since joining Boca Juniors in 2014, Pavón has made 108 first team appearances in all competitions for the Argentinian side, scoring 28 goals and adding 32 assists while helping lead his side to Argentina’s Superliga title three times. During the current season, the 23-year-old has made 15 appearances in the Superliga with 13 starts. In addition, he has made four appearances off the bench in the Copa Libertadores. Before his time with Boca, Pavón began his professional career with Club Atletico Talleres, making one first team appearance and scoring twice.
Pavón has appeared for both youth and senior international teams with Argentina. In 2016, the Argentinian forward featured for his national side at the U-23 level at the 2016 Summer Olympics. A year later, Pavón earned a call up to the senior Argentinian national squad and was part of the final roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared in every single match for Argentina that summer.
With the addition of Pavón, LA Galaxy manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto links up with one of his former players after managing the Argentinian attacker during part of his time at Boca Juniors. Pavón has been with Boca since 2014, while Schelotto managed the team from 2016-2018 before moving to the Galaxy.
The LA Galaxy are in action next when they travel to face D.C. this Sunday, Aug. 11 at Audi Field (4:30 p.m. PT) live on FS1 and FOX Deportes.
