José Aja
Uruguayan footballer (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Manuel Aja Livchich (born 10 May 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Chilean club Unión Española in the Primera B de Chile.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Manuel Aja Livchich | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Unión Española | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Nacional | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Racing Montevideo (loan) | 12 | (2) |
| 2016 | → Orlando City (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2017 | Orlando City | 15 | (0) |
| 2018 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 17 | (1) |
| 2019 | Unión Española | 21 | (0) |
| 2020 | Minnesota United | 13 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Santiago Wanderers | 20 | (2) |
| 2022 | River Plate Montevideo | 11 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Santa Fe | 46 | (3) |
| 2024 | Independiente Medellín | 15 | (0) |
| 2025 | Juventud Las Piedras | 15 | (1) |
| 2026– | Unión Española | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Aja began his career with Nacional in 2014, also spending time on loan with Racing Club during the 2015–16 season.[1] He went on loan to Major League Soccer side Orlando City on 21 July 2016.[2]
On 24 February 2018, Aja was traded to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for $125,000 of Targeted Allocation Money and a conditional second-round pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft.[3] Aja was released by Vancouver at the end of their 2018 season.[4]
On 14 February 2020, Aja was signed by Minnesota United FC.[5] He made his debut for Minnesota United on 12 July 2020 against Sporting Kansas City in the MLS is Back Tournament.[citation needed] When the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States forced play to resume play with the MLS is Back Tournament tournament, Aja took on a major role in defence with the absence of other players,[6] but his contract option was not exercised at the end of the season.[7]
Aja moved to Santiago Wanderers[8] in the Primera Division de Chile, spending a short time there before moving to River Plate of the Uruguayan Primera División,[9] where he made nine appearances. He was then transferred to Independiente Santa Fe.[10]
In January 2026, Aja returned to Unión Española after his stint in 2019.[11]
