The Houston Dynamo have acquired midfielder Luis Gil on loan from Querétaro FC pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate, the club announced today.
Houston acquired Gil’s rights within Major League Soccer for the remainder of the 2018 season in a trade with Real Salt Lake in exchange for a natural fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, with future additional considerations.
In his seven-year MLS career, Gil has played in 155 games with Real Salt Lake, Orlando City SC and Colorado Rapids, starting 98 of those, and has scored 11 career goals with nine assists. The Garden Grove, California native signed a Generation adidas contract in 2010 and joined Real Salt Lake, where he played for five years helping them win the 2013 Western Conference Championship.
“We are pleased to welcome Luis to the Houston Dynamo,” said Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “His familiarity with our club and staff along with his quality as a player will make him a positive addition for our group.”
After his tenure in Utah, Gil signed with Liga MX club Querétaro FC in 2016. The 24-year old played in nine Liga MX games and two Copa MX games, helping Los Gallos Blancos win the 2016 Apertura Copa MX (playoffs). In 2017, he played for Orlando City SC and the Colorado Rapids on loan from Querétaro, seeing action in 21 total games with nine starts.
An attacking midfielder, Gil has been a member of the United States Youth National Team system at every age level, playing for the Under-17, Under-18, Under-20 and Under-23 national teams before earning his first cap with the Men’s National Team against South Korea on February 1, 2014. He played in the 2009 U17 World Cup under the direction of current Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera and in the U20 World Cup in 2013. All in all, he has made 64 appearances in red, white and blue and has scored 14 goals.
“We are happy to bring Luis in because he’s an outstanding player, a U.S. men’s national team caliber player,” Cabrera said. “He’s young, he has a lot of ability and he’s confident, and now his teammates and our club must help him to feel comfortable and happy to perform and to display the tools and the game that he has.”
With the acquisition of Gil, the Dynamo now have 28 players on the active roster.
TRANSACTION: The Houston Dynamo acquire MF Luis Gil on loan from Liga MX’s Querétaro FC. Houston trades its natural fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft to Real Salt Lake in exchange for Gil’s player rights within MLS for the remainder of the 2018 season.
