Atlético Ottawa announced Thursday the club has added Canadian international forward Santiago López, on loan from Pumas UNAM of Mexico’s first tier, until July 2026.
López, 20, is a product of Pumas UNAM’s academy system and made his first team debut in January 2024. López has gone on to make 20 appearances. He has provided one assist and scored his first goal in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One match against Canadian Premier League (CPL) opponents, Cavalry FC.
“If there’s a club that can bring this kind of profile to the Canadian Premier League, it’s Atlético Ottawa,” said Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía. “Santiago [López] is a very good player and a young Canadian player. We have a purpose to develop this profile, and he will help us a lot. He’s a very good guy and an amazing professional, so I think that he’s going to give us that quality that we need during his time with the club.”
López is a Mexico-Canada dual national and has represented both countries at the youth level. The 20-year-old made his first appearance for Mexico U18 in November 2023 (five appearances) before joining Canada U20 in February 2024 (nine appearances, six goals). He was called up to the Senior CanMNT in October 2024 for a friendly vs. Panama (though he did not receive an official cap).
“It’s a really good group here and I’m looking forward to making an impact however I can," said López. "There’s eleven guys on the field at the end of the day so ultimately I just want to contribute and help the club win games.”
Born in Mexico, Lopez moved to Canada at the age of four and played for the semi-professional side Oakville Soccer Club. He returned to Mexico in 2015 and joined Pumas UNAM’s academy at age 13. He has scored nine goals in 28 matches for Pumas UNAM U-21.