The Venezuelan striker has scored over 100 professional goals and captured a USL Championship title with Phoenix Rising FC in 2023
Las Vegas Lights FC today announced the club has signed forward Manuel Arteaga, pending league and federation approval.
Arteaga is under contract with the Lights through the 2027 season.
With the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the Venezuelan followed up his career-high 19 goals in 2024 with 11 goals in 2025, the fourth time in his five USL Championship seasons that he has recorded a double digit goal tally.
The veteran striker also powered Phoenix Rising FC to a USL Championship title in 2023 with 15 goals and 6 assists.
“We are thrilled to have Manuel join the Lights,” said Sporting Director Gianleonardo Neglia. “He’s a proven striker who has consistently competed for the Golden Boot over his five seasons in this league. His experience and competitive fire make him a tremendous asset for our attack. The possibility of pairing him up with Johnny Rodriguez puts us in an incredible position to boast two proven goalscorers on our front line alongside a young talent like Nighte Pickering.”
Arteaga, a product of the Club Union Atletico Maracaibo and Zulia FC youth setups, made his professional debut with the latter’s Primera Division Venezolana side on August 15, 2010, at only 16 years of age. He would go on to take part in 80 matches for Los Negriazules, tallying 33 goals across all competitions. His stay in the Maracaibo side featured two loan moves, one to Italian Serie A club Parma’s youth teams and one to local rivals Deportivo Anzoátegui.
In 2016, after scoring 17 goals for Zulia and becoming the Venezuelan Torneo de Adecuacion’s top goalscorer, Arteaga signed for Italian Serie A club Palermo. He spent the 2016/17 season on loan with Croatian Football League side Hajduk Split and Bolivian juggernauts The Strongest and moved on to Belgian club RFC Seraing the following year.
In 2017, Arteaga returned to Venezuela with Deportivo La Guaira, where he would score 14 goals in 30 matches. Following a brief return to European soccer with Portuguese side Arouca, he played for Venezuela-based club Zamora FC, tallying 12 goals in 30 matches across all competitions.
The year 2021 marked the beginning of the Maracaibo native’s USL Championship career as he joined Indy Eleven. He tallied 21 goal contributions in 53 matches for The Boys in Blue before moving to Phoenix Rising.
With Phoenix, Arteaga scored 15 goals and gave out seven assists as the club went on to win the first USL Championship title in their history. He ended sixth in the Golden Boot race, two goals behind Rising teammate Danny Trejo and five behind Golden Boot winner Albert Dikwa of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
In 2024, the Venezuelan forward signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, becoming a vital part of the Rowdies’ run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Arteaga participated in 35 matches, scoring 18 goals and providing three assists. In total, he scored 31 goals and gave out seven assists in the two seasons he spent wearing the Tampa Bay badge.
Arteaga was a consistent call-up for Venezuela’s youth national teams, making appearances with both the U-17s and the U-20s in their attempts at World Cup qualification. He also participated in three matches with the Venezuelan senior national team, making his debut in a friendly match against El Salvador at 17 years old. His last call-up came in 2016, when he made the squad for a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in Quito.
