Guinean International Signs as Designated Player for Utah Side on Eve of 2026 MLS Campaign
HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, February 3, 2026) — Real Salt Lake announced today it has acquired 27-year-old Guinean FW Morgan Guilavogui (pronounced ghee – lah – VOH – gee) via permanent transfer through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season from French Ligue 1 side RC Lens, with a Club option for the 2029-30 campaign, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
"I’m very excited to begin. Coming from Europe, the MLS product is spectacular, and I'm looking forward to participating in the show,” said the French-born Guilavogui, a native of Toulon, who has appeared in 18 games for his father’s nation Guinea, scoring twice. “To the fans, I’m excited to see you at America First Field and win a lot of games."
Born on March 10, 1998, the versatile striker – standing 6-foot-2 while also playing as a winger on either the right or left sides, or as an attacking midfielder – scored three goals in 46 appearances with RC Lens in France’s first division since July, 2023. The two stints with Lens occurred on either side of a year-long loan with German Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli, where Guilavogui scored seven goals in 27 games across multiple competitions as the leading scorer for the Hamburg-based German side.
"We're delighted to welcome Morgan to Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer," said RSL Chief Soccer Officer Kurt Schmid. "His versatility across multiple attacking positions, combined with his experience in top European leagues, makes him an ideal addition to our attacking framework. Morgan's time competing at the highest levels in France and Germany, along with his international pedigree, has prepared him exceptionally well for this next chapter of his career. We're confident his quality and intelligence will be instrumental in generating scoring opportunities as we continue to build a dynamic, multifaceted attack."
Signing as an 18-year-old with his hometown club SC Toulon, Guilavogui scored 17 goals in 63 matches with a pair of lower-division Toulon sides across four seasons. In the fall of 2020, post-pandemic, Guilavogui moved to Ligue 2 club Paris FC, finding the back of the net 32 times in 87 games prior to the RC Lens purchase in July, 2023. While Guilavogui did not score in his first campaign at the Ligue 2 level, his progression from 14 goals in 2021-22 to 18 goals scored in 2022-23 precipitated the Lens move.
Both of Guilavogui’s international goals for Guinea also occurred in 2023, his first coming in an African Cup of Nations qualifier in his mother’s home country of Morocco against Ethiopia, the eventual game-winner in a 3-2 victory for Guinea. Later that year, Guilavogui scored another game-winning goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Guinea-Bissau.
# xx – Morgan Guilavogui
Pronunciation: ghee - lah - VOH - gee
Position: Forward
Hometown: Toulon, France
Date of Birth: 10 March 1998 (27)
Nationality: Guinean
How Acquired: Via purchase from RC Lens (France) through June 30, 2029; Club option to extend through 2029-30 MLS season
TRANSACTION: Real Salt Lake (MLS) acquire FW Morgan Guilavogui via transfer from RC Lens (French Ligue 1), signing the 27-year-old Guinean attacker through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season, with a Club option for the 2029-30 MLS campaign, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
RSL players, coaches and staff returned late Sunday night after two weeks in Lagos, Portugal, in the Algarve region, where the Claret-and-Cobalt had spent a portion of the 2024 preseason. Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side has played three games over 13 days in the back half of January as part of the annual Atlantic Cup tourney, winning each of its first two matches against Danish SuperLiga sides Randers FC (2-1 on Thu., Jan. 22) and Bröndby IF (2-1 on Mon., Jan. 26), with Dominik Marczuk, Tyler Wolff, an unnamed trialist and Alex Katranis finding the back of the net. U.S. World Cup hopeful Diego Luna had multiple assists in the first two matches, while Noel Caliskan and Sam Junqua have also set up RSL scores.
RSL concluded its Iberian peninsula experience Friday afternoon against fellow MLS Western Conference foe FC Dallas falling 0-2 in the 90-minute match and drawing 1-1 in an extra 45 minutes of competition, prior to completing its 24-hour door-to-door travels.
After spending most of this first week of February back in Utah, the Claret-and-Cobalt then wrap up its 22nd preseason slate with two games in Southern California, facing off against DF Kobi Henry’s former USL Championship side, Orange County SC (this Saturday, Feb. 7), as well as MLS Cup 2024 champions LA Galaxy (Fri., Feb. 13), the latter match being played outside of Palm Springs, Calif. Late preseason arrivals Victor Olatunji and Ari Piol, as well as other newly-acquired RSL players, including Stijn Spierings and Sergi Solans, could feature extensively in the California portion of preseason.
RSL kicks off its 2026 Major League Soccer campaign on Sat., Feb. 21 at B.C. Place, home of the reigning Western Conference champion, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, one week prior to the Claret-and-Cobalt’s 2026 home opener at America First Field against long-time rival Seattle Sounders FC on Sat., Feb. 28. Both of RSL’s February games kick off at 5:30p MT, with season ticket and four-game packages NOW AVAILABLE at www.RSL.com/tickets.
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