Dayro Mauricio Moreno Galindo was born on 16 September 1985 in Chicoral, a district of El Espinal in the department of Tolima, Colombia, and came through the youth ranks of Once Caldas in Manizales. A centre-forward, he became the all-time leading scorer of Colombia’s Categoría Primera A on 16 March 2024, when his 225th league goal took him past Sergio Galván’s 224. He has played for Once Caldas since 2023, his fourth spell at the club.
Early years in Manizales and first titles
He made his professional debut on 9 June 2002 for Once Caldas’ reserve side in the Primera B, scoring twice. He soon moved up to the first team, winning the 2003 Apertura and belonging to the squad that lifted the 2004 Copa Libertadores against Boca Juniors. In the first half of 2007 he was loaned to Brazil’s Atlético Paranaense, playing two matches and scoring once. Back in Manizales, he was top scorer of the 2007 Finalización with 16 goals.
Steaua Bucharest and a return to Once Caldas
In January 2008 he joined Steaua Bucharest. For the Romanian club he scored on 13 August 2008 in a Champions League qualifier, a 2-2 draw with Galatasaray. His time in Romania ended in dispute: he did not report for pre-season in 2009, and in early 2010 Once Caldas bought back his rights. That year proved the best of his first decade as a professional, as he won the 2010 Finalización and was its top scorer with 16 goals. On 5 May 2011 he reached a hundred career goals in a Copa Libertadores match against Cruzeiro.
Tijuana, Junior and Millonarios
In mid-2011 he moved to Mexico’s Club Tijuana, but a domestic accident cut short his first spell there, and in 2012 he returned to Once Caldas on loan. He then played for Junior of Barranquilla from 2012 to 2013 and arrived at Millonarios in July 2013, scoring on his debut. In Bogotá he was top scorer of the 2013 Finalización (16 goals) and the 2014 Apertura (13). He went back to Tijuana, where he shared the Liga MX Golden Boot in the Apertura 2016 with 11 goals and was named in that tournament’s best eleven. On 18 November 2016 he scored his 200th career goal against Veracruz.
Atlético Nacional and the years that followed
In January 2017 he joined Atlético Nacional. That year he won the Apertura and the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana against Chapecoense, scoring in the first minute of the second leg. He was also top scorer of the 2017 Apertura (14 goals) and joint top scorer of the Finalización (11). On 16 October 2018 Nacional terminated his contract over repeated breaches of discipline. That December he signed for Talleres de Córdoba, with whom he played in the 2019 Copa Libertadores. After a brief return to Once Caldas in 2020, he played for Bolivia’s Oriente Petrolero in 2021 and for Atlético Bucaramanga in 2022, where he was top scorer of the Apertura with 13 goals and reached 300 career goals on 12 August 2022.
Colombia national team
He won the 2005 South American U-20 Championship and played that year’s FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, where Colombia went out in the round of 16. He made his senior debut on 1 March 2006 against Venezuela and scored his first goal on 20 November 2007 in a 2-1 win over Argentina at El Campín. He was named in the squad for the 2011 Copa América and played three matches at the 2016 Copa América Centenario, where Colombia finished third; before the tournament he had scored against Haiti in a friendly. In August 2025, nine years after his previous call-up, Néstor Lorenzo recalled him for 2026 World Cup qualifying, and he played in September 2025.
Fourth spell at Once Caldas
He rejoined Once Caldas in January 2023. On 23 February that year he scored his 200th goal in the Colombian league against Millonarios, and on 16 March 2024, against Independiente Medellín, he overtook Sergio Galván as the Primera A’s leading scorer. On 25 March 2024 the club paid tribute to him at the Palogrande stadium. In the 2025 Copa Sudamericana, in which he scored a hat-trick in La Paz against GV San José, he finished as the competition’s top scorer with 10 goals in 13 matches and was named in its team of the tournament.
Once Caldas