El Pescadito’s return to Dallas makes him the third-highest active goal scorer in MLS

FRISCO, Texas (Thursday, Sept. 15) – FC Dallas has signed forward Carlos Ruiz, the club announced today.

A 10-year MLS veteran, Ruiz has made 182 league appearances, scoring 0.48 goals per match for a total of 88 goals, in addition to 17 assists.

Ruiz, who turns 37 today, first joined FC Dallas in March 2005 in a trade with the LA Galaxy, with which he had started his MLS career in 2002. In three seasons with FCD, Ruiz scored 31 regular season goals in 68 appearances and added five goals in six playoff games. His 31 regular season goals places sixth on the all-time team list behind Jason Kreis’ 91 goals, while his five playoff goals ties him for first place in team history with Ariel Graziani.

Ruiz returned to LA following the 2007 season, scoring once in three starts. The striker also spent time with Toronto FC, Philadelphia Union and D.C. United. Those stints, combined with stops in Paraguay (Olimpia), Greece (Aris) and Mexico (Puebla), yielded 37 goals in 132 appearances for the forward. Ruiz returned home to Guatemala in 2014, where he has netted 46 goals in 87 appearances for Municipal.

The goal scorer has also found the back of the net 68 times in 133 appearances for the Guatemalan National Team. Ruiz claimed the record for most goals scored all-time in World Cup qualifying matches (38) on Sept. 6, 2016. El Pescadito scored five times in a 9-3 win against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines before announcing his retirement from Guatemala.

Name: Carlos Ruiz

Position: Forward

DOB: Sept. 15, 1979 (36)

Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Hometown: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Height: 5-9

Weight: 157

Nationality: Guatemala

Transaction: FC Dallas signs forward Carlos Ruiz.