Jacob Montes

Last updated

Jacob Montes
Personal information
Full name Jacob Christian Montes Hoff [1]
Date of birth (1998-10-20) October 20, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Lake Worth Beach, Florida, United States
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
RWDM Brussels
Number 7
Youth career
2011–2016 FC Florida Prep Academy
2016–2017 Portland Timbers
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2017–2020 Georgetown Hoyas 73 (15)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2017 Portland Timbers 2 8 (0)
2018–2019 Treasure Coast Tritons 12 (0)
2021–2022 Crystal Palace 0 (0)
2021–2022Waasland-Beveren (loan) 9 (1)
2022RWD Molenbeek (loan) 1 (0)
2022–2024 Botafogo 6 (1)
2024– RWDM Brussels 9 (0)
International career
2016 United States U19 1 (0)
2023– Nicaragua 12 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of April 20, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 1 June 2025

Jacob Christian Montes Hoff (born October 20, 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian Challenger Pro League club RWDM Brussels. Born in the United States, he represents the Nicaragua national team.

Contents

Club career

Portland Timbers

Montes began his career with the FC Florida Prep Academy, whose alumni include Julian Gressel and Niko Hämäläinen. [2] In October 2015, he trialled with English side Manchester United, and in February 2016, he spent a week with German club Borussia Dortmund. [3]

In 2016, he joined the Portland Timbers Academy. [4] Montes scored eight goals in 25 games for the Under-17/18 team and was subsequently signed to United Soccer League side Portland Timbers 2. [5] He made his professional debut on March 25, 2017, as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 2–1 loss to Real Monarchs. [6] Montes made a further seven appearances and was named the Timbers' 2017 Academy Player of the Year. [7]

Georgetown University

After one season with the Timbers, he opted to play college soccer at Georgetown University for four years. In 2019, he scored 11 goals as he captained the team to its first NCAA National Championship. With a further five assists, he was named Big East Conference Midfielder of the Year. [8] Montes rejected multiple contract offers from the Portland Timbers during his collegiate career. [9]

In March 2021, Montes completed a trial with an undisclosed Premier League team who had been tracking him for several months. A month later, he opted out of pre-season training and notified Major League Soccer that he did not intend to play professionally in the United States for the 2021 season. [9] On May 20, his MLS rights were made available to other clubs following the expiration of the Timbers' ownership, and later picked up by the New England Revolution. [10]

Crystal Palace

On May 25, 2021, it was announced that Montes would join Premier League side Crystal Palace on a one-year deal, subject to international clearance. [11] He completed the move without being eligible for a British work visa, meaning he would have to leave the club temporarily on loan. [12]

Loans to Belgium

On July 31, 2021, Belgian First Division B Waasland-Beveren announced that they had acquired Montes from Crystal Palace on loan for one year, [13] though this arrangement was ended in January 2022 and Montes joined another Belgian team, RWD Molenbeek, again on loan. [14]

Botafogo

On August 12, 2022, Montes signed a two-year contract with Brazilian Série A club Botafogo. [15] The move reunited him with Botafogo owner John Textor, who had previously overseen his transfers within his multi-club network, including Crystal Palace and Belgian side RWDM. [16]

Initially considered an unknown prospect, Montes struggled for playing time in his first season, making only three Série A appearances and totalling 85 minutes. He did not feature at all for the club during the 2023 campaign. On April 21, 2024, he scored his first goal for Botafogo in a 5–1 victory over Juventude, marking just the second goal of his professional career and ending a scoring drought of 1,146 days. [16]

RWDM Brussels

In the summer of 2024, Montes returned to RWD Molenbeek, which had since rebranded as RWDM Brussels, remaining within the multi-club network owned by John Textor. [17] In January 2025, Montes sustained an injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. [18]

International career

On October 7, 2016, Montes made his under-19 international debut for the United States in a 4–0 friendly victory against Liga MX side Club Tijuana. [19] Montes is also eligible to play for Nicaragua through his paternal family. [12] In March 2021, he discussed a potential call-up to the Nicaragua national team for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers later that month. [20]

Montes made his international debut for Nicaragua in a friendly match against Panama on June 10, 2023. [21]

Career statistics

As of July 13, 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Portland Timbers 2 2017 [22] USL Championship 8080
Treasure Coast Tritons 2018 [23] USL PDL 6060
2019 [23] USL League Two 6060
Total120120
Waasland-Beveren 2021–22 [24] Belgian First Division B 9191
RWD Molenbeek 2021–22Belgian First Division B1010
Career total301301

International career

International goals

Scores and results list Nicaragua's goal tally first.

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
1September 11, 2023 Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua, NicaraguaFlag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 5–05–1 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B [25]
2October 13, 2023 Wildey Turf, Wildey, BarbadosFlag of Montserrat.svg  Montserrat 3–03–0 [26]
3November 17, 2023Wildey Turf, Wildey, BarbadosFlag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 4–04–0 [27]
4June 5, 2024Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua, NicaraguaFlag of Montserrat.svg  Montserrat 3–14–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification [28]

References

  1. Jacob Montes at Global Sports Archive
  2. "FC Florida Prep Academy Alumni". FC Florida Preparatory Academy. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  3. Curreri, Gary (March 22, 2016). "Benjamin's Jacob Montes: Palm Beach's 2016 3A-2A-1A Soccer Player of the Year". South Florida Sun-Sentinel . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  4. "Portland Timbers Academy players Marco Farfan, Jacob Montes named to U.S. U-19 roster for training camp". Portland Timbers . September 30, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  5. "Jacob Montes – Portland Timbers U-17/18". U.S. Soccer Development Academy . Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  6. "Portland Timbers II 1–2 Real Monarchs". Soccerway. March 26, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  7. "Portland Timbers announce 2017 Club Awards". Portland Timbers . November 30, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  8. "Jacob Montes – Men's Soccer". Georgetown University Athletics . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Goff, Steven (April 3, 2021). "Georgetown Hoyas win again but lose two players to pros". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  10. "Georgetown midfielder Jacob Montes signs Premier League deal with Crystal Palace". SoccerWire. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  11. "American midfielder Jacob Montes to join Palace". Crystal Palace . May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Goff, Steven (May 25, 2021). "Georgetown's Jacob Montes signs with Crystal Palace in Premier League". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  13. De Jonge, Martijn (July 31, 2021). "Welkom op de Freethiel, Jacob Montes!". waasland-beveren.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  14. "Jacob Montes loan update". Crystal Palace F.C. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  15. "Jacob chega ao Botafogo" [Jacob joins Botafogo]. Botafogo (in Brazilian Portuguese). August 9, 2023. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Guimarães, Lucas (April 22, 2024). "Conheça Jacob Montes, americano naturalizado nicaraguense que marcou o seu primeiro gol pelo Botafogo" [Meet Jacob Montes, the American-born Nicaraguan who scored his first goal for Botafogo]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  17. Delbeke, Michael (October 28, 2024). "Jacob Montes speelde drie seizoenen geleden op huurbasis één wedstrijd voor RWDM… tegen Westerlo: "Zowel de club als ikzelf hebben sindsdien stappen gezet"" [Jacob Montes made a single loan appearance for RWDM three seasons ago – against Westerlo: "Both the club and I have come a long way since then"]. Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  18. Maes, Robbie (February 1, 2025). "Yannick Ferrera moet enorme domper verwerken: middenvelder komt dit seizoen waarschijnlijk niet meer in actie" [Yannick Ferrera faces major setback as midfielder is unlikely to feature again this season]. Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch). Archived from the original on June 29, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  19. "U.S. U-19 MNT, Xolos exchange wins in training camp friendlies". SoccerWire. October 14, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  20. Goff, Steven (March 6, 2021). "Steven Goff – Twitter". Twitter . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  21. "Football Live Score - Sofascore". Sofascore. June 10, 2023.
  22. "Jacob Montes". USL Championship . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Jacob Montes". USL League Two . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  24. "USA - J. Montes - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  25. "Game Details". March 12, 2021.
  26. "Game Details". March 12, 2021.
  27. "Game Details". March 12, 2021.
  28. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 6, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)