Jesús Medina

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Medina and the second or maternal family name is Maldonado.

Jesús Manuel Medina Maldonado (born 30 April 1997) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays for Russian club Spartak Moscow and the Paraguay national team.

Jesús Medina

Medina with CSKA Moscow in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Jesús Manuel Medina Maldonado
Date of birth	(1997-04-30) 30 April 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Winger, Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Spartak Moscow
Number	19
Youth career
2010–2016	Libertad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2017	Libertad	74	(17)
2018–2021	New York City FC	101	(23)
2022–2023	CSKA Moscow	35	(9)
2023–	Spartak Moscow	42	(6)
International career‡
2013	Paraguay U17	15	(7)
2015–2017	Paraguay U20	11	(4)
2017–	Paraguay	9	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 March 2023

Club career

Medina made his senior debut as a 15-year-old for Libertad on 7 July 2012 in a 1–0 win over Club Rubio Ñu.^[2]

On 31 December 2017, it was announced that Medina was signing with Major League Soccer (MLS) side New York City FC ahead of their 2018 season.^[3] Medina ultimately played over a hundred MLS games. However, after a disappointing 2021 season, New York City opted to decline their contract option on Medina.^[4]

On 17 January 2022, he signed a contract with Russian Premier League (RPL) club CSKA Moscow until the end of the 2024–25 season.^[5]

In July 2023, there were reports in the press about the imminent transition of Medina to Spartak Moscow. The fee for the transfer, which led to significant media attention due to CSKA and Spartak being rivals, was estimated to be between 7 million and 7.5 million euros.^[6] On 10 July 2023, Spartak formally announced the transfer and Medina signed a three-year contract.^[7] On 5 August 2023, Medina scored within the first 40 seconds of making his debut after coming on as a substitute in what was eventually a 1-4 win over Rubin Kazan. This was the quickest goal by any player in their debut in RPL history.

International career

Paraguay U17 and U20

Medina was part of the Paraguay U17 squad for the 2013 South American Under-17 Football Championship, scoring four times as the team finished fifth.^[8][9][10]

He was also named to the Paraguay U20 squad for the 2015 and 2017 South American Youth Football Championships (CONMEBOL U-20 Championship).^[11] In the 2015 tournament, he scored a goal in a 4–2 win over Bolivia U20 in the group stage,^[12] and in the 2017 tournament he scored twice in a 3–2 group stage loss to Brazil U20.^[13]

Paraguay

He was named in the senior team's provisional squad for Copa América Centenario, but was cut from the final squad.^[14] On 1 July 2017, Medina made his debut for Paraguay in a friendly match against Mexico, coming in as a substitute in the 85th minute.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

In February 2019, Medina earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 May 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Libertad	2012	Paraguayan Primera División	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2016	Paraguayan Primera División	38	9	—		1	0	—		39	9
	2017	Paraguayan Primera División	35	8	—		13[a]	2	—		48	10
	Total		74	17	0	0	14	2	0	0	88	19
New York City FC	2018	Major League Soccer	28	6	1	0	—		2[b]	0	31	6
	2019	Major League Soccer	18	3	2	1	—		0	0	20	4
	2020	Major League Soccer	22	5	—		4[c]	0	3[d]	2	29	7
	2021	Major League Soccer	33	9	—		1[e]	0	4[b]	0	38	9
	Total		101	23	3	1	5	0	9	0	118	26
CSKA Moscow	2021–22	Russian Premier League	10	1	2	0	—		—		12	1
	2022–23	Russian Premier League	25	8	8	3	—		—		33	11
	Total		35	9	10	3	0	0	0	0	45	12
Spartak Moscow	2023–24	Russian Premier League	24	5	10	0	—		—		34	5
	2024–25	Russian Premier League	18	1	6	2	—		—		24	3
	Total		42	6	16	2	—		—		58	8
Career total			252	55	29	6	19	2	9	2	309	65

1. 5 appearances and 1 goal in Copa Libertadores and 8 appearances and 1 goal in Copa Sudamerica
2. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
3. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
4. Two appearances and one goal in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, one appearance in MLS Cup Playoffs
5. Appearance in 2021 Leagues Cup

International

As of match played 27 March 2023^[17]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Paraguay	2017	1	0
	2022	7	0
	2023	1	0
Total		9	0

Honours

New York City FC

• MLS Cup: 2021^[18]

CSKA Moscow

• Russian Cup: 2022–23^[19]

See also

• Players and Records in Paraguayan Football