Emanuel "Manny" Perez (born February 19, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Danish 1st Division club AC Horsens.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emanuel Perez | ||
| Date of birth | February 19, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Garner, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender, midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Horsens | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2017 | North Carolina FC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | NC State Wolfpack | 29 | (6) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Celtic | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → North Carolina FC (loan) | 35 | (1) |
| 2021 | Portland Timbers | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Austin FC (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Louisville City | 60 | (0) |
| 2024– | AC Horsens | 4 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | United States U18 | 8 | (2) |
| 2018 | United States U20 | 6 | (1) |
| 2019 | United States U23 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 3, 2024 | |||
College career
Perez played two years of college soccer at North Carolina State University between 2017 and 2018, making a total of 29 appearances for NCSU, scoring 6 goals and tallying 9 assists.[1]
Professional career
Celtic
On January 31, 2019, Perez joined Scottish Premiership side Celtic.[2] Perez was immediately loaned out to USL Championship side North Carolina FC.[3] He was again loaned to North Carolina FC ahead of the 2020 USL Championship season.[4] Perez left the club after two seasons without playing a game.[5]
Loan to North Carolina FC
After joining the club on loan, Perez made his first team debut for North Carolina in a 4–1 win against defending champions Louisville City.[6] He went on to make 23 appearances for the club that he represented during his youth.[7] Of those games he started 12 times.[7] He returned to NCFC for a second season on loan during the 2020 season. This was a season that was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and shortened from the standard amount of games; however, Perez went on to make a further 14 appearances for his boyhood club before returning to Celtic.[8]
Austin FC
On April 26, 2021, it was announced that Perez had signed a contract with the Portland Timbers and was immediately loaned to Austin FC.[5][9] Austin has the option to trade for Perez for $100,000 GAM at the end of the season.[10] Following the 2021 season, Perez's contract option was declined by Austin and he returned to Portland.[11]
Following the 2021 season, Perez returned to Portland, but they opted to decline their contract option on him and he left club.[12]
Louisville City
On February 15, 2022, Perez signed with USL Championship side Louisville City.[13]
AC Horsens
On January 4, 2024, Perez joined Danish side Horsens for an undisclosed fee,[14][15] reported to be in the region of DKr375.000 plus add-ons,[16] signing a contract until June 2027 with the club.[15][16] In the process, he became Louisville City's third player to complete a move to a European club, following Jonathan Gómez and Joshua Wynder.[14]
Personal life
Career statistics
- As of match played September 29, 2021[18]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| North Carolina FC (loan) | 2019 | USL Championship | 21 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | USL Championship | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||||
| Portland Timbers | 2021 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Austin FC (loan) | 2021 | Major League Soccer | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 1 | ||
Honors
United States U20