New York City FC signs Ronald Matarrita from L.D. Alajuelense

New York City FC announced on Wednesday the club has signed Costa Rican international left full-back Ronald Matarrita from L.D. Alajuelense.

Matarrita, 21, has earned six caps with the Costa Rican national team and will play opposite right full-back Andoni Iraola at NYCFC, joining the team on a permanent basis using Targeted Allocation Money, though specific terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"It's a very big step for me as a footballer, to have this opportunity. From the moment I heard that New York City FC was interested in me I became very motivated," Matarrita said in a statement. "Now that it's a reality I will take full advantage of it to help the team be successful."

(Courtesy: @NYCFC)

NYCFC sporting director Claudio Reyna was quite pleased with the move, too, saying he believes the team is "getting a young, motivated, and versatile player at the perfect stage of his career."

The club's new head coach Patrick Vieira mirrored those sentiments.

"We are very happy to bring in a young player of Ronald's quality into the squad," Vieira said in a statement. "He's a versatile player that can play in a number of different positions, for a coach it's great to have players like that in the group. I'm especially looking forward to having Ronald with the team during preseason; it's an important moment for new signings to integrate to the squad and get to know their teammates better."

Matarrita has 54 appearances to his name since joining Alajuelense in 2012, scoring four goals in that time.