Moisés Paniagua Leaño (born 16 August 2007) is a Bolivian professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Botola Pro club Wydad AC, on loan from División Profesional club Always Ready, and the Bolivia national team.
Early life Born in Tarija, Paniagua is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer, Emanuel Paniagua, who also plays for Always Ready. The two took an interest in football at a young age, playing futsal at the Los Mineros futsal field in the Fátima neighbourhood of Tarija.
Club career Early career Paniagua began his career with his brother in the academy of semi-professional side García Agreda, where they both won a number of club and individual awards. Paniagua would go on to join San José de Tarija, the affiliate side of Club San José, while his brother joined Cancheritos, an academy in Cercado. The two would be reunited when they both represented the Tarija Department at the National Under-19 Futsal Tournament - having already represented Tarija at both football and futsal.
Always Ready After impressive performances at the Under-16 National Championship in May 2022, Paniagua was scouted by professional side Always Ready. He joined the club in the second half of the 2022 season, alongside his brother. On 19 October 2022, he became the youngest player to score in the Bolivian Primera División when he scored the only goal on his debut in a 1–0 win against Royal Pari. Twenty-four hours after his professional debut, he featured in Always Ready's reserve win over the same opposition, with the La Paz-based club running out 5–2 winners, with Paniagua scoring twice.
Due to civil unrest in the Santa Cruz Department, the Bolivian Football Federation terminated the 2022 Bolivian Primera División season, and Paniagua would have to wait until the following year to feature for Always Ready again. On just his second appearance for the club, he scored the fourth goal in a 5–0 win over Libertad Gran Mamoré. On 2 March 2023, he made his debut in the Copa Libertadores, becoming, at the age of 15 years, 6 months, and 14 days, the joint-second youngest player ever to appear in the Copa Libertadores, only behind Diego Suárez, who set the record in 2017 at the age of 14.
Following his impressive start to his career, he was linked with a move to Europe, with club president Andrés Costa stating that "concrete offers" had been received.
International career Paniagua was first called up to the Bolivia national under-17 football team in May 2022, for training and five friendly games in Paraguay. Shortly after his Copa Libertadores debut, he travelled to Ecuador to represent Bolivia at the 2023 South American U-17 Championship. There, he scored in a 2–1 win over Peru, also assisting Braian Mamani for the winning goal.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotal DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAlways Ready2022FBF División Profesional11––11202323310010343202427200813532025251373003216Total76191939110223Wydad AC (Loan)2025-26Botola Pro70–50120Career Total821919314111323
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBolivia202550202642Total92
Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paniagua goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Moisés PaniaguaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 26 March 2026 Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe, Mexico 1–1 2–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification2 31 March 2026 1–1 1–2
Personal life Born in Bolivia, Paniagua is of Guinean descent through his paternal grandmother.
References