Jesús Murillo was about as beloved a player as you can be at LAFC without being one of the originals. He is also one of those players that feels like he has been around since the beginning, despite arriving a couple of years later. After a successful loan spell in 2020, he was signed on permanently in the winter of 2021. In regards to this past season, the defender had his typical solid year, despite a late-season injury that cut his regular season short.
¡Felicidades, Jesús!
Jesús Murillo reaches 100 @MLS regular-season appearances. pic.twitter.com/4fYEKhM9Uz
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 2, 2024
In the 2024 MLS Regular Season, Murillo tallied just under 1700 minutes, made 22 appearances with 19 starts. As he began to work his way back from the aforementioned injury, he was used lightly in the first couple of MLS Cup Playoff matches, making a full return to the Starting XI and playing the entire match of the teams eventual 1-2 loss against the Seattle Sounders that saw them eliminated from the postseason.
While we didn’t see much from the defender in terms of attack, we did see his typical physical presence and willingness to put his boots in and go for the tackles many shy away from. He finished the season with a 70% success rate in aerial duels, winning 57 of those duels. He tallied 48 clearances, finished with 86% successful pass percentage with nearly 900 passes, but perhaps most surprisingly for the stout center back, was this was his first season, according to MLS.com, that he failed to log a single interception.
Part of our History.
📝 Jesús Murillo joins @FCJuarezOficial pic.twitter.com/BGEoISuh5C
— LAFC (@LAFC) December 27, 2024
Before the 2024 calendar year ended, LAFC fans were punched in the gut when the club dropped their infamous “part of our history” post for Murillo, signaling the end of his time in Los Angeles. Murillo joined his fellow former teammate, Omar Campos, heading to Liga MX though for the Colombian he was set for a new life with FC Juárez. The news came as part a bit of an avalanche of player departures that featured several defenders saying goodbye to the black & gold. When it comes to Murillo, what LAFC will miss most, will undoubtedly be his physicality and the aura he brought to the backline. You just knew, every match he featured in, he would give you several moments that made you nod in approval with a smirk on your face. Toughness, being unafraid of the moment, not backing down from a challenge, it will be hard for the club to find that in whoever they decide to bring in or bring up, to replace him.
Thoughts on Murillo this season and his move away? Leave a comment below!