.jpg) Herrera withDC United in 2025 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aaron Joseph Herrera[1] | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-06-06)6 June 1997 (age 28) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Las Cruces,New Mexico, United States | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | D.C. United | ||||||||||
| Number | 22 | ||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Real Salt Lake AZ | ||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2015–2017 | New Mexico Lobos | 54 | (7) | ||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2016–2017 | FC Tucson | 11 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Real Salt Lake | 124 | (1) | ||||||||
| 2018 | Real Monarchs | 5 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2022–2023 | CF Montréal | 19 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2024– | D.C. United | 56 | (1) | ||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||
| 2017 | United States U20 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2019–2021 | United States U23 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2021 | United States | 1 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2023– | Guatemala | 25 | (0) | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||||||||||
Aaron Joseph Herrera (born 6 June 1997) is a professionalfootballer who plays as adefender forMajor League Soccer clubD.C. United. Born in the United States, he represents theGuatemala national team. Herrera made one appearance for theUnited States national team, before switching to play for Guatemala.
Born inLas Cruces, New Mexico, Herrera played three years ofcollege soccer at theUniversity of New Mexico between 2015 and 2017, scoring 20 goals and tallying 8 assists in 54 appearances.[3]
Herrera also played withPremier Development League sideFC Tucson in 2016 and 2017.[4]
On 15 December 2017, Herrera signed as aHomegrown Player forReal Salt Lake ofMajor League Soccer.[5]
On 21 December 2022, Herrera was traded toCF Montréal for $500,000 in General Allocation Money, a 2023 international roster spot, Montréal's2023 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick and a sell-on fee.[6]
On 12 December 2023,D.C. United acquired Herrera fromCF Montréal in exchange forBrazilian defenderRuan and $500,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money.[7] During his maiden season with the club, Herrera was named to the2024 MLS All-Star Team.[8]
Internationally, Herrera had represented theUnited States U20s.[9] In January 2021, Herrera made one appearance for the seniorUnited States in a 7–0 friendly win overTrinidad and Tobago.[10]
He was named to the final 20-playerUnited States under-23 roster for the2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2021.[11]
In June 2023, Herrera was named toGuatemala's preliminary squad ahead of the2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[12] He made his Guatemaladebut on 15 June in a friendly match againstCosta Rica.[13]
In the2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter finals againstCanada, Herrera was a critical player in Guatemala's penalty kicks victory, completing a goal-line clearance and scoring in the penalty shootout againstDayne St. Clair[14][15] – marking Guatemala's first appearance in the Gold Cup semi-finals since1996.[16]
Herrera was born in the United States to a Guatemalan father, Diego Herrera and American mother, Donni Herrera.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Monarchs | 2018 | United Soccer League | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Real Salt Lake | 2018 | Major League Soccer | 16 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 32 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 20 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | 29 | 1 | — | — | 3[b] | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||||
| 2022 | 27 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 124 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 135 | 1 | ||
| CF Montréal | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 19 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |
| D.C. United | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 190 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 209 | 2 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
| Guatemala | 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | |
| Career total | 26 | 0 | |
United States U20
Individual
Guatemala squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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