PETALING JAYA: The Terengganu football team may have landed a prized catch in El Salvador captain Nelson Bonilla to boost their challenge in the Super League and cup competitions.
The 33-year-old striker boasts a profile which can be the envy of all the foreign players plying their trade in the Malaysian League.
Bonilla has faced the likes of 2022 World Cup winner Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the GOAT (greatest of all time), and Uruguayan star Luis Suarez when he skippered his nation in a friendly against Major League Soccer side Inter Miami on Jan 20.
He can also count legendary Mexican centreback Rafael Marquez among his former opponents.
The well-travelled Bonilla, who has played in Romania, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Turkiye, and Thailand, is expected to be a crowd puller when he makes his debut for the Turtles soon.
He has signed an eight-month contract with Terengganu and will be a key man upfront along with wingers Safawi Rasid and Akhyar Rashid, and Nigerian striker Ismaheel Akinade.
With Croatian Ivan Mamut still out with an Achilles injury, Bonilla’s presence couldn’t be more timely.
Bonilla was introduced to the Terengganu fans on Aug 21 before their Asean Club Championship game against Cambodia club Svay Rieng at the Sultan Mizan Stadium.
He was surprised to see the huge turnout at the stadium and and finds the fans’ passion and support infectious.
“The passionate support really surprised me and I can see how much the fans love their team. That itself is a huge motivation for me to adapt quickly and help the team win something and make the fans happy,’’ he said.
Bonilla has featured in 276 club matches, scoring 111 goals and has 62 caps with El Salvador with 20 goals.
During his stint in Thailand, he first joined Sukhothai in 2018, before moving to Bangkok United, playing from 2019 to 2021.
In 2022, he moved to Port and then Chiangrai United in 2023. Bonilla returned to Sukhothai the same year but left the team in July this year.
