Denil Maldonado
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 Maldonado with Motagua in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Denil Omar Maldonado Munguía | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Tegucigalpa, Honduras | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rubin Kazan | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2024 | Motagua | 99 | (4) |
| 2020 | → Pachuca (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Everton (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2023 | → Los Angeles FC (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2024 | → Universitatea Craiova (loan) | 33 | (5) |
| 2025 | Universitatea Craiova | 15 | (1) |
| 2025– | Rubin Kazan | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Honduras U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Honduras U20 | 10 | (1) |
| 2018 | Honduras U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | Honduras Olympic | 13 | (2) |
| 2019– | Honduras | 43 | (1) |
Medal record | |||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 July 2025 | |||
Denil Omar Maldonado Munguía[a] (born 26 May 1998) is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a defender for Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan and the Honduras national team.[1]
Motagua
Maldonado started his professional career with F.C. Motagua under the management of Diego Vásquez. He made his debut on 6 September 2015, in a 4–2 home defeat to Real Sociedad.[2] He scored his first goal on 2 December 2018 in the Apertura tournament semi-final against Platense.[3]
Pachuca
On 19 January 2020, Maldonado joined Liga MX club Pachuca on a year–long loan, with an option to buy once six months had passed.[4] He made his debut the following 28 January in a 3–1 (4–2 on aggregate) round of 16 win against Venados in the Copa MX.[5]
Everton
On 9 September, Maldonado was loaned out to Chilean Primera División side Everton de Viña del Mar for six months after Pachuca and Motagua agreed to extend Maldonado's loan until July 2021.[6][7] He didn't make his first appearance until the following 10 December, coming off the bench in a 3–1 home victory against Curicó Unido.[8] He scored his first and only goal for Everton on 21 October 2021, the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with Ñublense.[9]
Los Angeles FC
On 22 December 2022, Maldonado joined MLS side Los Angeles FC for the 2023 season on loan with an option to buy.[10]
Universitatea Craiova
On 9 January 2024, Maldonado joined Liga I club Universitatea Craiova on loan until 31 December 2024 for a rumoured fee of €200,000, with an option to buy.[1]
Rubin Kazan
On 10 July 2025, Maldonado signed a four-year contract with Rubin Kazan in Russia.[11]
International career
Under-17
Maldonado represented Honduras at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[12]
Under-20
Maldonado played with the Honduras U-20 at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia. He played in all five games and scored a goal against Trinidad and Tobago.[13]
Under 23
On 23 July 2019, Maldonado was selected to represent Honduras at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.[14] He captained the team throughout the tournament and sent Honduras to the final after converting the decisive penalty in a penalty shoot-out against Mexico.[15] He played in the gold medal match as Honduras lost 4–1 to Argentina.[16]
Senior
He made his debut for senior national team on 5 September 2019 in a friendly against Puerto Rico, as a starter.[17]
Personal life
On 14 February 2017, Denil's older brother Alex Maldonado was murdered inside a public transit bus in Tegucigalpa.[18]
