Erik Nicolás López Samaniego

Erik López spent thirteen years working his way through Olimpia's youth system before making his first-team debut in August 2019, at the age of seventeen. Within months he had two league titles on his record, as Olimpia won both the Apertura and Clausura that year with the young forward part of the squad.

The move that reshaped his career came in 2020, when Atlanta United signed him from Olimpia for a fee reported to be as high as five million dollars, making him one of the club's costliest signings. He joined Atlanta United 2, the club's reserve side, as he adjusted to football in the United States. For a player who had barely established himself in the Paraguayan top flight, it was a transfer that raised his profile well beyond Asunción.

At international level, López has represented Paraguay's under-23 side, appearing in Olympic qualifying and gathering caps across a span stretching from late 2019 into 2024. He has not featured for the senior national team.

Now back at Olimpia, López remains a forward built around pace and directness, a right-footed attacker whose route to the top flight ran entirely through the club's own academy before a spell abroad took him to Major League Soccer and back.