Lucas Sebastián Torreira Di Pascua (; born 11 February 1996) is a Uruguayan 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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

and the Uruguay national team.

Club career

Early career

Torreira started his youth football career at hometown club I.A. 18 de Julio of

Fray Bentos Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. ...

. In 2013, at age 16, he joined Montevideo Wanderers' youth team, before moving to Italy where he joined Pescara's youth team in January 2015. Lucas Torreira, militante del pescara

Pescara

Before the 2014–15 season, Torreira was called up for Pescara's first team and, on 25 October 2014, he sat on the bench for the first time. He made his senior debut in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

on 16 May 2015 against

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

, playing the game as a starter. He played 58 minutes before being replaced by

Matteo Politano Matteo Politano (; born 3 August 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger (on both the left and the right flanks) or as a second striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Italy national team. Club career Roma Of Calabria ...

Sampdoria

On 1 July 2015, Torreira was transferred to

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

for €1.5 million, but he remained with Pescara on loan for the 2015–16 season to gain first-team experience. On 2 July, his loan to Pescara became official. On 9 August 2015, Torreira scored his first professional goal against

F.C. Südtirol Fußball Club Südtirol is an Italian association football club, based in the city of Bolzano, in the autonomous province South Tyrol. The club was formerly known as its bilingual name F.C. Südtirol – Alto Adige. They will play in Serie B f ...

in the

2015–16 Coppa Italia The 2015–16 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons was the 69th edition of the national cup in Italian football. It began on 2 August 2015 and ended with the final match on 21 May 2016. Juventus successfully defended their ...

. After the Pescara loan ended, Torreira returned to

on 1 July 2016. On 21 August 2016, Torreira made his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

debut in their opening game against

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

at the

Stadio Carlo Castellani The Stadio comunale Carlo Castellani is a multi-purpose stadium in Empoli, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and the home of Empoli F.C. The stadium holds 16,284. Built in 1923, the Stadio Carlo Castellani is currently t ...

. He started the game and played the entire match. He became a regular for Sampdoria in the 2016–17 season, and continued showing his importance to the team in the 2017–18 season; scoring vital goals, including the second goal in Sampdoria's 3–2 win over Juventus in November.

Arsenal

On 10 July 2018, Torreira joined English club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £26 million. Torreira was given the number 11 shirt, previously worn by

Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Özil is known for his technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision. He can ...

, who took the vacant number 10 following the departure of

Jack Wilshere Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere (born 1 January 1992) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of the Arsenal U18s. Wilshere came up through Arsenal's youth academy and i ...

2018–19: Debut season, European runner-up

Torreira made his Premier League debut on 12 August, coming on as a substitute on the 70th minute in a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City. Torreira registered his first assist of the season, by setting up

Alexandre Lacazette Alexandre Lacazette (born 28 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for and is the captain of club Lyon. He plays mainly as a striker but has also been deployed as a second striker and wide forward. Lacazette b ...

's winning goal in a 3–2 win over Cardiff City. Torreira made his full-debut and his

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

debut for Arsenal in the 4–2 win over

FC Vorskla Poltava FC Vorskla Poltava ( uk, ФК «Во́рскла» Полта́ва ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Poltava that competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top flight of Ukrainian football. History Kolos Poltava The clu ...

on 2 September, before being replaced in the 57th minute by

Matteo Guendouzi Matteo Elias Kenzo Guendouzi Olié (; born 14 April 1999) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille, Marseille and the France national football team, France nation ...

. Torreira's performance in Arsenal's 1–1 draw with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

drew particularly high praise from fans and pundits alike, picking up the man-of-the-match award. On 2 December, Torreira scored his first Arsenal goal and picked up another man-of-the-match award against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

when he latched on to a pass from

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea. He is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement. Born in France, he is a former ...

to slot the ball past

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team. He is a three-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footbal ...

to give Arsenal a fourth goal in a 4–2

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...

victory. A week later, on 8 December, Torreira scored a late 83rd-minute winner against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

with a bicycle kick, giving him his second goal in as many games at the Emirates Stadium. In the match, Torreira was also awarded his fifth consecutive Arsenal Man of the Match performance. Torreira was dismissed in stoppage time during the club's reverse fixture against Tottenham at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

after a late challenge on Danny Rose. The match ended 1–1 and it was Torreira's first red card for Arsenal; although Arsenal attempted to appeal the ban, their appeal was rejected by the FA, which meant that Torreira's ban would still result in a three-match ban. As a result, Torreira would miss Arsenal's games against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and Everton. ESPN's

Bill Barnwell William Jerome Barnwell Jr. is an American sportswriter and staff writer for ESPN.com. He has written about a wide range of sports including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, golf and mixed martial arts. Career Barnwell began his sport ...

named Torreira the third best signing of the Premier League season.

2019–20: FA Cup win

Torreira made his first appearance of the season in Arsenal's 2–1 win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 17 August. Torreira scored his first goal of the season in Arsenal's 3–1 defeat to Liverpool after replacing

Dani Ceballos Daniel Ceballos Fernández (born 7 August 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spain national team. Ceballos started his career at Spanish club Real Bet ...

in the 61st minute. He struggled for playing time early on in the season, but regained a starting position under new Arsenal manager

Mikel Arteta Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of club Arsenal. Arteta began his senior career at Barcelona in 1999 but limited playing time led to a loan to Paris ...

. On 2 March, Torreira suffered a presumably season-ending ankle injury in an FA Cup win against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. However, the Premier League suspension due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

gave Torreira enough time to heal and return to fitness by the time the season restarted in June. He played only sparingly for the rest of the season.

2020–21: Loan to Atlético Madrid

On 5 October 2020, Torreira joined

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

on a season-long loan. On 17 October, Torreira made his debut in a 2–0 win against

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, 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) ...

in the

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

. On 31 October, he came off the bench and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 league win over

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

2021–22: Loan to Fiorentina

On 25 August 2021,

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

announced the signing of Torreira on loan from

until 30 June 2022 with an option to buy him next summer for around £13m. On 12 September, Torreira made his debut in Fiorentina's 2–1 win over

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

, after being named in Italiano's starting eleven.

Galatasaray

On 8 August 2022, Torriera signed for

club

on a four-year contract, for a reported fee of €6 million.

International career

Torreira was born in Uruguay, and is of Spanish descent through his paternal grandfather from Galicia. He holds a Spanish passport, and was scouted by the senior

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

before he was capped by Uruguay. Torreira was called up to the senior

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

squad for the 2018 China Cup in March 2018. He made his debut in the 2–0 win over the Czech Republic in the China Cup semi-final on 23 March. In June 2018, he was named in Uruguay's final 23-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

in Russia. The tournament served as a breakthrough for Torreira, who played in all five of Uruguay's games.

Style of play

Upon signing for Arsenal in 2018, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

s Jack Austin stated "Torreira is exactly the kind of no-nonsense midfielder the club have been craving", adding that in Uruguay colours during the 2018 World Cup "he went about his job as the deep-lying pivot in the middle of the park with none of the fuss and all of the discipline of a player who has built a tidy reputation for himself in Serie A", while assessing his chief weaknesses as a lack of height in aerial duels and little goal threat. ''WhoScored'' notes that Torreira is a player who likes to shoot from distance and often gets fouled. They also note that he likes to play short passes and make tackles. Atlético Madrid manager,

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...

, praised Torreira for his high work rate and speed on the pitch.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2019–20 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Atletico Madrid *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torreira, Lucas 1996 births Living people People from Fray Bentos Uruguayan footballers Uruguay international footballers Serie B players Serie A players Premier League players La Liga players Süper Lig players Delfino Pescara 1936 players U.C. Sampdoria players Arsenal F.C. players Atlético Madrid footballers ACF Fiorentina players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Association football midfielders 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Uruguayan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Expatriate footballers in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Turkey Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey