Chicho Arango always wanted to return to MLS. Here's why he chose Real Salt Lake to do it
Chicho Arango always wanted to return to MLS. Here's why he chose Real Salt Lake to do it
Real Salt Lake's new DP striker sat down with Salt City FC to discuss his club-record signing, a return to MLS, plans for the team, and share a message with the fans who have already welcomed him well
Chicho Arango’s best days of his career came in Major League Soccer.
The Medellín, Colombia-born striker has played in Europe, with Valencia’s B team in Spain and Benfica in Portugal (with loans to Aves and Tondela) as a rising youngster.
Then he broke out of his shell in his home country, signing a three-year contract in a return to Millonarios in Bogotá in 2019 and totaling 21 goals in 53 appearances. But the 5-foot-10 forward was just getting starter.
Arango, who at 28 has represented Colombia twice on the international stage since 2021, made an instant impact with LAFC. He scored 14 goals in his first 17 league appearances, earned MLS Newcomer of the Year honors in 2021, and eventually helped the Black-and-Gold win an MLS Cup title and Supporters’ Shield.
His total time in MLS amounted to 30 goals in 51 appearances, but because of LAFC’s contract/salary cap situation — Arango was never on a Designated Player contract, though his production probably merited one — he found himself heading to Liga MX champions Pachuca a few months ago.
But he never wanted LAFC 2022 to be his final stop in MLS, either.
“Yes,” Arango responded quickly, confidently and matter-of-factly when asked if a return to the United States was always on his mind. “I had spoken with my wife, and we wanted to return to MLS. I didn’t think it would be so soon — but one day we wanted to return.
“Through talking with her, she also loved living in the United States, the way of life in MLS, and the organized nature of the league. I spent a few months there (in Mexico), and enjoyed it a lot with great teammates, great coaches, fantastic ownership in Pachuca. They all taught me so much. But God only knows why he puts us where he does; if God puts me in a spot at a time, it’s for His reasons and to help me gain experience, responsibility and to work hard and triumph further.”
Arango sat down for an exclusive interview this week with Salt City FC — an interview you can hear in its original Spanish on the podcast feed — to discuss his return to MLS, first impressions of RSL and the Salt Lake community, and his goals for the club during a three-year contract with an option for the 2026 MLS season.
But mostly, he has a message for the fans.
“(Chicho Arango) is going to give 100% for this club; he’s going give it his all until his final drop of sweat,” he said. “Until he can’t run anymore, until I can’t give anymore. These fans are going to have someone that wants to be a part of the team, and build something that we can all be proud of.
“That’s always going to be my biggest thing: work, work, work.”
To that extent, the family has already been won over by Real Salt Lake, by the team’s ownership and front office, public relations staff, technical and training staffs, and teammates. But perhaps most importantly, Arango and his family were won over by the fans and community — a community that immediately embraced them with a warm welcome at halftime of last Saturday’s game, a month before he’ll find actual eligibility with the club July 8 against Orlando City SC.
In less than a week on the ground in Utah, Arango has already: led RSL supporters in a March to the Match; received a standing ovation at America First Field; trained daily with each of his teammates; been stopped in public to sign an autograph, take a selfie, or just simply talk to a fan; and done a handful of interviews with local and national media.
His formal debut may be just under a month away. But Arango is already being won over by his new environment.
“Candidly, it surprised us a lot,” he said. “From the moment we arrived, they’ve treated us extremely well. My wife is very happy with the way they’ve treated us, from our first interaction with the staff and the attention we received to the first game. She’s extremely happy being here, excited to be here, and can’t wait for the first time she gets to see me suit up on the field.”
Happy wife, happy life.
But she also knows what Arango was brought in to do, why Real Salt Lake paid a club-record transfer fee to acquire him that sources confirmed approaches the $6 million transfer fee LAFC received from CF Pachuca at the end of last season.
“Chicho” is here to win championships, to triumph, and to earn titles.
Winning championships isn’t just a buzzword; Arango doesn’t believe in PR speak, at least not when he doesn’t have to rely on such. He dropped the phrase “the team is the star” — a long-time RSL mantra of old — in his opening comments to the media following the club’s 0-0 draw with New York City FC.
But club representatives said that was all him. Arango never met with public-relations brass to discuss talking points, history, or fan-speak in Salt Lake.
Arango knows several of his teammates; U22 initiative signing Andrés Gómez was a U20 product during Arango’s time at Millonarios, and Arango sees the same immense potential — European potential, he calls it — during the past week of training as he saw in Bogotá.
He also immediately rekindled his LAFC partnership with Danny Musovski, one of the attacking players who could benefit the most from RSL’s addition of a goal-scoring No. 9 after scoring most of his 11 games as a substitute for Arango.
Jefferson Savarino. Damir Kreilach. Anderson Julio. Right down to a defense led by Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva and Brayan Vera. Arango believes that Real Salt Lake has the makings — or at the very least, the beginnings, with plans to add multiple players including a defensive midfielder on a U22 contract during the July transfer window, sources confirmed to Salt City FC — of a team that can compete for cups, titles and championships.
It could be sooner. It could be later. But Arango is confident championships will come.
“It wasn’t just to say what the fans wanted to hear,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent here on this team, and more important, there are a lot of hard workers. One can lead to the other; if you work hard with the talent you have, you can have a lot of success. And I think we can win championships in the MLS.
“When? I can’t say. Everything is a process, but if we all work towards the same objective, we have the same capacity to win titles. I want to work hard, I want to help my teammates work hard, and if we strengthen ourselves with the technical staff, I believe we can bring a championship to Real Salt Lake.”