SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC announced on Wednesday the club had acquired the rights to sign Argentinian winger Cristian Parano from fellow USL Championship side San Antonio FC for an undisclosed fee and had subsequently signed him to a new multi-year contract.

Parano will be added to Republic FC’s roster for the remainder of the season pending receipt of a P-1 visa, and league and federation approval. Per club policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Cristian is a game-changer in our league who brings a championship pedigree,” said Republic FC President and General Manager Todd Dunivant. “His dynamic movements with and without the ball are very well suited to our style of play. We look forward to integrating him into our attack as we hit the stretch run of the season.”

Parano joins Republic FC after spending the first half of the 2023 season with San Antonio FC, where he logged 11 appearances and scored two goals. Since 2019, he has featured in 73 matches, tallying 14 goals and 13 assists for the Texas side – each ranking in the Top 10 in club history. He exercised a player option to depart San Antonio on June 30.

The attacker began his professional career in his native Argentina, debuting for Primera División side San Martin de San Juan in 2018. As a youth player, he was a member of Argentina’s top clubs – River Plate and Boca Juniors.

In 2019, he joined San Antonio and scored seven goals with six assists in 32 appearances in his first USL Championship season. His breakout performance earned him the 2019 USL Championship Young Player of the Year award. After two seasons in San Antonio, he signed with Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreria. Last August, he returned to San Antonio on loan to eventually sign a new contract with the Texas club. In the last year with the team, he logged 25 more appearances with six scoring contributions.