Bizarre Transfer Saga Ends: Escalante Loaned To FC Motagua

Just over half a month after we announced that Jose Escalante was set for FC Motagua, the fiery Cavalry midfielder has officially been loaned to the Honduran side on a one-year deal.

The move of the 28-year-old was mired in confusion after both Cavalry and FC Motagua released contrasting statements about his next steps both before and during his leave of absence, with two weeks passing by since the transfer saga first unfolded.

“Cavalry FC has agreed to a one-year loan of Jose Escalante to FC Motagua in Honduras,” stated Cavalry FC, which clarified that the club retains exclusive rights to Escalante through to the end of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season.

That’s interesting wording, because a one-year loan would run more than the length of Escalante’s current deal, which was set to run until 2023. It included a club option for 2024, but this will need to have been triggered for a one-year loan to make any sense.

The Honduran midfielder has made exactly 100 appearances for Cavalry FC, contributing some nine goals and sixteen assists during his time with Alberta’s only Canadian Premier League side. He’s been a polarizing figure in the league, goading opponents into fouls and frustrating opponents aplenty.

Now that the dust of the unexpected transfer has settled, it looks like the matter of confusion stemmed from Jose Escalante requesting a leave of absence to return to Honduras. While the club states this was granted June 26, this date comes after the FC Motagua head coach declared Escalante would soon be joining them in Honduras. While we reported this, no alarm bells went off at Spruce Meadows, where he made his one hundredth appearance the next day.

Jose Escalante was announced by FC Motagua just days later, which we’re told caught the club by complete surprise. This led Cavalry to release a statement of its own saying he was still under contract with them, at which point FC Motagua pivoted to say that while things hadn’t been finalized, discussions had now opened up between both clubs.

See Also: The 2023 CPL Mid-Season Transfer Tracker

Escalante even went on record to apologize for the situation earlier, stating that he never acted in bad faith and that personal terms had been met with FC Motagua. Now, it’s all settled: he’ll join them on a one-year loan after what was ultimately a sudden and unexpected exit from Spruce Meadows.

What happens next remains to be seen: while it looks like Cavalry has locked him in for 2024, it isn’t known whether there’s any sort of recall clause, if he’s gone a calendar year, or if he could be back for the start of the 2024 CPL season. Given how this transfer went down, we’d refrain from guessing if he’ll truly step foot back on Canadian soil – but then again, a few had thought that about Joao Morelli, too.

Cavalry FC are currently third in league standings after thirteen matches played.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques