32-year-old defender Jorge Corrales is set to join the club after most recently playing for FC Tulsa in the USL Championship.
Hailing from Pinar del Rio, Cuba, – the same place as Lexington SC player Modesto Méndez – the left back started his career with FC Villa Clara in his home country. From there he joined FC Pinar del Rio.
He made 80 appearances with six goals from 2009-15 until he was sent on loan to fellow Cuban outfit Sancti Spiritus. He was named MVP of FC Pinar del Rio in three consecutive seasons from 2012-14.
Corrales made an additional 18 appearances with one goal for Spiritus before moving to the United States.
He briefly joined amateur Miami squad Fortuna SC – a club with a strong Cuban contingent – before opting to stay in the States and sign for Miami FC – a USL Championship squad that was, at the time, playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Before the year was over Corrales left Miami FC in favor of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the NASL.
He then joined the Tulsa Roughnecks, which would go on to become FC Tulsa, before making the move to join Chicago Fire FC in the MLS. Coralles returned to Tulsa on loan from Chicago before eventually being traded to the Montreal Impact – now known as CF Montreal – in the MLS.
He rejoined FC Tulsa for the 2021 season and had remained in Oklahoma since, logging over 40 appearances for the club.
Corrales’ career hasn’t just been at the club level, however, with the Cuban also being capped by his national team. He started at the U20 level and worked his way up to the senior squad, where he has made 42 appearances with a goal scored in international play. He is on the national team with Méndez.
He also represented Cuba in seven World Cup qualifying matches and was part of the 2012 Caribbean Cup win. The Caribbean Cup was the second piece of hardware Corrales had been a part of, with CF Montreal also crediting him as part of the Canadian Cup win in 2021.
Looking to continue his professional career, he joins his national team compatriot in the Bluegrass where he’ll add further veteran presence and expertise.
Head Coach Darren Powell
“We welcome Nico to Lexington — he is a great addition to our GK’s. We will have a competitive group of GK’s which is exciting for them and the team. Nico has good distribution skills and his shot stopping is excellent. He is a good communicator and great teammate. We have tracked Nico for the past 3 years and are pleased he has chosen Lexington as his next step for his career.”
