16 Year Old Gio Villa Makes Professional Debut

Gio Villa, a 16-year old defender with the Real Monarchs, made his professional debut Sunday evening in the Monarchs 1-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps 2.

Gio, who has appeared for the youth national teams of both Mexico and the United States, was a standout with the Real Salt Lake Academy at the U15 level before signing a professional contract with the Monarchs for the 2024 season. He began the season with the RSL U17's and was one of the squad's top performers in the GA Cup recently held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In his first professional appearance with the Monarchs, Gio came on in the 68th minute at right back. He helped the team preserve its shutout, even after going down a man shortly after he was subbed on, in a hotly contested 1-0 victory over Vancouver.

Congratulations to Gio on making his first professional appearance, and we are excited to see many more to come!