Atlanta United appears to be looking to a familiar place for its latest signing.
Paulo Díaz, a centerback at River Plate since 2019, will sign with Atlanta, according to journalist Germán García Grova. Per Grova, Díaz, whose contract with River extends through December 2027, has received an early release from his deal in favor of signing for the Five Stripes while adding that a physical was completed on Monday.
Diaz, 31, is naturally right-footed, but can play on either side of a two-man CB pairing. He’s also played at right back and center back.
Get the latest Atlanta United and World Cup news delivered to your inbox daily, for free.
A Chilean international, Diaz has been capped 51 times for his country, playing briefly with former Atlanta United midfielder Carlos Carmona. His professional career began at Palestino in 2013 before his move to Colo Colo in 2015. He then played in Argentina for San Lorenzo from 2016-2018 and spent a season in the Saudi Pro League, but returned to Argentina in 2019 after signing with River Plate.
If the name rings a bell, it’s because Atlanta, along with Austin FC, was interested in Diaz in the fall of 2024. Signing with Austin would have reunited him with his fellow national teammate, Diego Rubio. Ultimately, he remained at River.
Let us know what you think of the potential move in the comments, but this one looks imminent.
Help support independent Atlanta soccer coverage
Every week, Scarves and Spikes brings you original interviews, on-site coverage, live shows/podcasts, and the analysis you won’t find at the bigger national outlets. With 2026 being a World Cup year, Atlanta United facing yet another important transfer window, the U.S. Soccer National Training Center setting up shop in the Atlanta area, and NWSL Atlanta kicking off in 2028, your support helps us do even more.
What you get on Patreon:
- Atlanta United training ground updates
- Exclusive interviews, like our recent sit-down with ATL UTD 2 head coach Jose Silva
- Discord access, talk Atlanta soccer with the SnS team and other supporters
- Patreon-only mailbags
- Grey Gowder’s analytical deep-dives on roster construction, the academy, ATL UTD 2, and more
Membership starts at $5/month. New subscribers get a 7-day free trial.
Looks like Tata has taken over the entire FO function- all players he and his team have scouted or known from the past. Tata is building a roster for 12-24 months which seems to be the time frame of his expected stay here. How does that help?
I am not sure this team benefits from hiring a 31 yo CB who has been coming off the bench, albeit because of injury. As we have seen from Miranchuk and Miggy, players who were sitting on the bench even at big clubs, are just not ready to take on a full time starting role. I assume he is a rotation CB with Stian and Enea.
Lack of pace at CB and a history of howlers is probably the exact opposite of the type of player we should be scouting.
Does he have legs at 31? If so, then great, the maturity level will be valuable on a shaky back line with young right and left backs. If the legs are going, I have real concerns – we saw that Berrocal’s speed was a massive weakness for a system that too often leaves us exposed. A slower CB requires Stian to be the partner, which is never something I bet money on (the being in the field part that is). Mihaj just doesn’t have it. Speaking of Mihaj, I hope this isn’t the last move we make at CB…
Normally he would be an upgrade over Berrocal, but he hasn’t had regular playing time since March and is coming off a recent muscle tear. This is giving me Abram vibes, may be another overpaid CB.
THAT is the real question here – our back line is already slow (and gets slower as the match progresses). We need a CB with speed and stamina.
Gregersen has been relatively healthy this season and either way, we need CB depth badly. Assuming Junior Alonso actually signs with Atlanta, that would give us a natural left footed CB. So having 4 true CB is better than what Atlanta has been doing for the first half of the season