SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC announced on Wednesday it had acquired midfielder Cristian Parano on loan for the remainder of the 2022 USL Championship season from F.C. Pacos de Ferreira, pending league and federation approval. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Parano played in San Antonio from 2019-20, earning USL Championship Young Player of the Year honors in 2019.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome back Cristian and are thankful to F.C. Pacos de Ferreira for accommodating the loan. He is a game changer with in-depth knowledge of our team identity principles,” said San Antonio FC Head Coach Alen Marcina. “Cristian has the exceptional ability to unbalance opposition defenses and is committed to the aggressive pressing actions our game model demands.”

Parano scored seven goals and tallied six assists in the 2019 season, following it up with four goals and four assists in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Parano was signed after arriving in the Alamo City on trial, becoming a fixture in the lineup and starting 36 matches and making 47 appearances.

In 2019, Parano completed 84.1% of his 30.6 passes per 90 minutes, including 53 key passes. During the 2020 season, Parano completed 21 key passes on just 229 total passes – less than a third of the total passes attempted in 2019 and coming in just 15 appearances.

After the 2020 season, the 22-year-old Argentine joined F.C. Pacos de Ferreira in Liga Portugal before spending 2021-22 on loan with PAE Chania in the Greek Super League 2.