Álvaro Martín Barreal (born 17 August 2000) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Cruzeiro.

Club career

Vélez Sarsfield

Barreal began his career with Vélez Sarsfield. Gabriel Heinze promoted the midfielder into the club's first-team squad at the beginning of 2018–19, selecting him for his professional debut on 2 September at La Bombonera against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

; he was substituted on for Lucas Robertone with thirty-two minutes remaining. He netted his first goal on 3 February 2019 against River Plate.

FC Cincinnati

On 2 September 2020, Barreal signed for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side FC Cincinnati. He signed a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year. Reports out of Argentina listed the transfer fee in the range of $1.5 to 1.7 million for 75 percent of the player's rights, with Vélez Sarsfield retaining 25 percent of any future sale. Also noted was the potential of $250,000 additional for a set number of appearances. Barreal made his debut on October 7 in a 3–0 defeat away to the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

Subaru Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Phila ...

, having replaced

Frankie Amaya Franuel "Frankie" Amaya (born September 26, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls. Born in Santa Ana, California, Amaya played with youth club Pateadores bef ...

early in the second half. Four further appearances, all as a starter, arrived in his first season with the American club. In September 2023, Barreal was nominated for the prestigious FIFA Puskás Award for his 71st-minute goal scored against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

Quarterfinals. Barreal joined 10 other players on the shortlist for the world's "most beautiful goal" of the year. He was the fourth active MLS player to be nominated for the award, and the first since a 2018 goal by Zlatan Ibrahimović for

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

International career

Barreal represented the Argentina U20s at the 2018 COTIF Tournament in Spain. He scored two goals in five games, as Argentina won the tournament. Scouts from the

Argentina men's national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and Sk ...

visited two FC Cincinnati games in 2023 to assess him for an potential call up to the senior team.

Career statistics

Honours

Argentina U20 * L'Alcúdia International Football Tournament:

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FC Cincinnati *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

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Individual * MLS All-Star:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barreal, Alvaro 2000 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine Primera División players Major League Soccer players Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers FC Cincinnati players Major League Soccer All-Stars Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players