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Premier League

Enner Valencia: Where the Ex-West Ham Striker Plays Now, and His 8-Club Career

By eplreport 4 min read

Enner Valencia playing for Ecuador

Enner Valencia now plays for Boca Juniors in Argentina. Ecuador’s record goalscorer joined the Buenos Aires giants in August 2026 on a contract running to the end of 2027, straight after playing at his third World Cup. It is the latest stop in a career that took him from Ecuador to Mexico, the Premier League, Turkey and Brazil.

Where does Enner Valencia play now?

Boca Juniors announced the signing on 9 August 2026. Valencia arrived as a free agent after leaving Mexican club Pachuca, and Boca president Juan Román Riquelme had reportedly wanted him for some time. He signed until 31 December 2027, giving him around 18 months in Argentina. Infobae has the club’s official announcement (in Spanish).

The move came as Boca looked for experience in attack after an injury to striker Adam Bareiro. At 36, Enner Valencia was not signed as a long-term project but as a proven finisher who could make an immediate difference in domestic and continental competition.

He landed in Buenos Aires for his medical on 8 August and was in line to make his debut in the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 against Recoleta days later. For a player who has spent most of his career abroad as the main striker, joining one of the most famous clubs in South America, with one of the most demanding crowds, is a fresh test even at this late stage.

The Premier League years

English fans know Valencia best from his time at West Ham. He joined from Pachuca in the summer of 2014, after scoring three goals for Ecuador at the World Cup in Brazil, and quickly made an impression with his pace, power and eye for a spectacular goal. His long-range goals in that first season quickly made him a fan favourite at Upton Park.

Injuries and inconsistency made his three seasons at the club uneven, and in 2016/17 he spent a season on loan at Everton. He left England in 2017 for Tigres in Mexico, closing a Premier League chapter that never quite matched the promise of his first few months.

For the latest on his former club, see our West Ham news section.

Enner Valencia’s club career

  • Emelec (Ecuador): where he made his name
  • Pachuca (Mexico), 2014: top scorer in the Clausura with 12 goals
  • West Ham (England), 2014-2017, including a loan at Everton in 2016/17
  • Tigres UANL (Mexico), 2017-2020
  • Fenerbahçe (Turkey), 2020-2023
  • Internacional (Brazil), 2023-2025
  • Pachuca (Mexico), 2025-2026
  • Boca Juniors (Argentina), 2026-present

His three seasons at Fenerbahçe kept him in the European spotlight before Internacional brought him to Brazil. A return to Pachuca, where his career abroad began, followed in 2025 before the move to Boca.

Ecuador’s greatest goalscorer

Whatever happened at club level, Enner Valencia has always delivered for his country. He went into the 2026 World Cup as Ecuador’s all-time top scorer with 49 goals in more than 100 appearances, and he holds the national record for World Cup goals with six.

Three of those came in Brazil in 2014. The other three came in Qatar in 2022, where he scored both goals in the tournament’s opening match against the hosts, the first goals of that World Cup, and then scored again against the Netherlands.

The 2026 World Cup

His third World Cup was less rewarding. Ecuador were drawn in Group E with Germany, Côte d’Ivoire and debutants Curaçao. Valencia did not score at the tournament, and he was openly frustrated after Ecuador were held to a goalless draw by Curaçao, whose goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves. You can read more about that remarkable result in our piece on Curaçao, the smallest nation at the World Cup.

Ecuador still reached the knockout rounds as one of the best third-placed teams with four points. Fox Sports looked at where Ecuador’s stars are playing after the tournament, with Valencia’s move to Boca among the biggest stories.

Enner Valencia in numbers

  • 49 goals for Ecuador going into the 2026 World Cup, a national record
  • 6 World Cup goals, also a national record
  • 3 World Cups: 2014, 2022 and 2026
  • 8 clubs in five countries

He also leaves behind a changing Ecuador team. The current generation is built around Premier League and European talent, led by Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo, who has taken on a bigger leadership role. Valencia’s experience has been an important bridge between the side that reached its first World Cups in the 2000s and the younger squad now leading the country.

What comes next

Enner Valencia turned 37 in November 2026, and Boca will be one of the final big chapters of his career. Playing at La Bombonera gives him the chance to add a trophy in South America and to keep his international place as Ecuador look ahead to the next cycle.

He may never have become a Premier League star, but few players from his generation have scored as consistently across so many countries and leagues. For more on the players who lit up the 2026 tournament, see our list of World Cup stars Premier League clubs should watch and our full guide to every country that qualified.