Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo (born 29 August 1991) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club América. He is an

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medali ...

. Araujo began his career with

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

in 2010, and played with the club for three years before joining

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

. At Santos, he played in over 100 matches, winning the

twice. He moved overseas to play for

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

, spending four years there before returning to Mexico to join

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

. He competed internationally since 2011: Araujo played at the

2011 Copa America Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

2012 Toulon Tournament The 2012 Toulon Tournament was the 40th edition of the Toulon Tournament and took place from 23 May to 1 June. Colombia national under-20 football team, Colombia were 2011 Toulon Tournament, the defending champions, but they did not participate th ...

, Copa America Centenario, and the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

. He was on the Mexico team at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

that won the gold medal.

Club career

Cruz Azul

Araujo joined

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

in 2007, making his way through the Cruz Azul Premier team and the under-20s. For the Clausura 2009 season, Araujo was registered to

Cruz Azul Hidalgo Club Deportivo Cruz Azul Hidalgo, also known as Cruz Azul Hidalgo, was a professional football club in Mexico who last played in the Liga Premier league of Mexico. Their stadium was the Estadio 10 de Diciembre located in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz A ...

squad, but did not played a single match.Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo - Ficha Jugador
/ref> In 2010,

Enrique Meza Enrique Meza Enríquez (born 3 March 1948) is a Mexican professional football Manager (association football), manager who most recently coached C.D. Veracruz, Veracruz. Prior to pursuing a career in coaching, he was a Goalkeeper (association fo ...

promoted Araujo to the first team. On 19 September, he made his Primera División debut for Cruz Azul, playing 90 minutes in the 3–0 home victory against

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

Santos Laguna

On 5 June 2013, Araujo joined

on a year-long loan deal with an option to buy. He made his league debut on 26 July against his former club Cruz Azul, playing the entire match as Santos earned a 3–2 victory. On 19 August 2014, Araujo scored his first goal for Santos in a 3–0 win over UAT in the

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

. He won his first cup with Santos Laguna following their victory over

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the Apertura Copa MX. The following year, Araujo won his first league title as Santos defeated

in the finals of the

Clausura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

tournament. On 20 July, Santos defeated

to win the

2015 Campeón de Campeones Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * ' ...

cup; Araujo started the match and played all 90 minutes. In May 2018, Santos Laguna defeated

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

to win the Clausura tournament following a 3–2 aggregate score in the finals. Araujo missed the finals due to an injury he suffered while on international duty with the Mexico national team.

Celta de Vigo

On 14 June 2018, Araujo joined Spanish club

on a five-year contract. On 21 July, he made his debut in a friendly match against

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

América

On June 24, 2022, Araujo made his return to Mexico and signed with

. In September 2023, he suffered a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

International career

Araujo received his first international call up in 2011 during the

. In his international debut, he scored in a 2–1 loss against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

during their first group stage match. He would go on to appear in the rest of the group stage matches and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

would end up last in the group. Araujo would be an international regular under

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian club Internacional in 1984 before re ...

, participating in various friendlies, the CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Copa America Centenario, and the

. On 27 March 2018, during a friendly match against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Araujo was forced off the pitch after 15 minutes when suffering an knee injury. He was sidelined since then, however in May he was named in Mexico's preliminary 28-man squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in Russia but had to withdraw due to experiencing

tendonitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

during his recovery. Araujo was part of the squad that won the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

. In October 2022, Araujo was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Personal life

Néstor has an older brother, Félix, who is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Araujo goal.''

Honours

Cruz Azul *

: Clausura 2013 Santos Laguna *

: Clausura 2015, Clausura 2018 *

: Apertura 2014 *

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

América *

: Apertura 2023, Clausura 2024, Apertura 2024 *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Supercopa de la Liga MX Supercopa can refer to: *Supercopa de España (disambiguation) *Supercopa do Brasil, a Brazilian football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa Honduras, a defunct Honduran football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa de Costa Rica, a Costa Rican Football ...

Campeones Cup The Campeones Cup is an annual North American association football match contested between the winners of the previous MLS Cup from Major League Soccer and the winners of the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX. The competition was established by ...

Mexico U20 *

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

third place:

Mexico U23 *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Mexico *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual *

Best XI: Clausura 2017 *

Best Defender: 2016–17 * CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo, Nestor 1991 births Living people Mexico men's under-20 international footballers Mexico men's international footballers Cruz Azul footballers Santos Laguna footballers Club América footballers RC Celta de Vigo players Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games Liga MX players La Liga players 2011 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players Footballers from Guadalajara, Jalisco Olympic footballers for Mexico Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Mexico Olympic medalists in football Mexico men's youth international footballers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games footballers for Mexico Men's association football defenders Pan American Games gold medalists in football 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Mexican men's footballers Mexican expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 2022 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen