LAFC announced today that the Club has acquired forward Mario González from Sporting Clube de Braga of Portugal using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). González will occupy an international roster slot upon the receipt of his P1 visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“Mario is an experienced attacker with a proven goalscoring record, which was a priority addition for us this transfer window,” Co-President and GM John Thorrington said. “We are excited to welcome Mario and see his qualities help deliver further success to our club and supporters.”
González, 27, joins LAFC after spending the past two years with SC Braga. In 2022-23, the Spanish native scored 13 goals and registered one assist in 22 games on loan with OH Leuven of the Belgian Pro League A. He also appeared in 16 games on loan for CD Tenerife of the Spanish Second Division, scoring 6 goals in 973 minutes in 2021-2022. In 2020-2021, Gonzalez scored 14 goals in 27 games for Tondela in the Portuguese First Division.
González spent nine years advancing through the youth system at La Liga’s Club Villareal, joining Villareal in 2012 and making his senior debut for the club during a UEFA Champions League qualifying match vs. AS Monaco on Aug. 17, 2016. Overall, he registered a total of six appearances for Villareal’s first team, including four La Liga appearances, one UEFA Champions League appearance and one Europa League match. From 2015-2019, González made 94 appearances for Villareal B across all competitions, scoring 16 goals.
While at Villareal, González was loaned to French Ligue 2 team Clermont Foot, where he made 21 appearances and scored four goals in all competitions.
Born in Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Viega, in Spain, González began his youth career at Burgos CF Youth and Atletico Madrid Youth before signing with Villarreal.
Internationally, González has made three appearances for Spain at the U-17 level and has registered one goal.
TRANSACTION: LAFC acquires forward Mario González from Sporting Clube de Braga of Portugal using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
