Sebastián Pérez Cardona (born 29 March 1993), sometimes known as Seba Pérez, is a Colombian 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Portuguese

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club Boavista. He is known for his abilities to react quickly and his skills playing both in a defensive and an attacking role. He was referenced earlier in his career by media abroad his native Colombia as a highly rated top prospect in Colombia.

Club career

Atlético Nacional

On 4 March 2011, Pérez made his official debut for Nacional against

Atlético Junior Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, capital of the department of Atlantic ...

, replacing Macnelly Torres in the 86th minute. He would eventually win the 2011 Torneo Apertura with ''Los Verdolagas'', making him the youngest player to win the honour at age 18. The following year, he was part of the Nacional squad that won both the

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia (); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs affiliated to the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) and is the ...

and the

Superliga Colombiana The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay Dimayor due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...

, thus winning every top tier trophy in Colombia before the age of 20. Following Colombia's exit from the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

, he was invited to

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 a trial in August. He came on as a sub in the 67th minute for Arsenal's friendly against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, wearing the number 32 jersey. Arsenal went on to win the game 3–1. Despite only playing for 26 minutes, Pérez was praised for his natural abilities despite being so young.

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

stated that he was impressed with Pérez during the week trial and decided to add him in the game. Despite impressing both the London club and its fans, Pérez was unable to get a work-permit because 'he had yet to play at least 75% of Colombia's international matches'. Thus, he was sent back to Nacional. Despite this, Wenger claimed that he would continue monitoring Perez until an opportunity to sign him comes. On 27 July 2016, Pérez and Atlético Nacional conquered the

2016 Copa Libertadores The 2016 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2016 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 57th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. ...

. This was his first major title. Before leaving Nacional, Pérez had converted himself into one of the most decorated players in Atlético Nacional's history, achieving ten titles with the club.

Boca Juniors

In 2016, Pérez signed with Argentinian club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

. He could not play for the team from April 2017 to January 2018, due to an ACL injury.

Pachuca

In September 2018 he was loaned out to

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

. He made his debut on 26 September in a 3-0 victory against

Cafetaleros de Chiapas Club de Fútbol Cafetaleros de Chiapas was a Mexican football club based in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas currently competing in Liga Premier de México, the third tier of Mexican football. Between 2015 and 2020, the team played at Asce ...

as part of 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 ...

. However, that ended up being his first and only game for the club and he only made one other substitute appearance.

Barcelona S.C.

On 3 January 2019, Pérez transferred to

Barcelona S.C. Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of foo ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. He made his debut for the club on 6 February against

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievement ...

in the

2019 Copa Libertadores The 2019 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 60th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club association football, football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. ...

. He later played 24 league games in the 2019 Ecuadorian Serie A without scoring any goals.

Boavista

On 19 September 2020, his loan to

club Boavista was announced. On 31 August 2021, Boavista exercised the option in the loan contract to purchase his rights permanently and signed a four-year contract with Pérez.

International career

Youth

Pérez first represented the U20 Colombia national team in 2011, where he took part in the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...

that took place in his home land. He was then recalled for the

2013 South American Youth Championship The 2013 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was an association football competition for national under-20 teams in the South America (CONMEBOL). The tournament was held in Argentina from 9 January to 3 February 2013 and was won by Col ...

, where Colombia eventually won the championship and qualified for the

. There, Pérez would give impressive performances, attracting the likes of top European teams.

Senior

Pérez received his first call-up from the senior Colombia national team under the order of José Pékerman to face

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. He earned his first cap against Bolivia, being included in the starting 11 and playing 62 minutes before being replaced by

Edwin Cardona Edwin Andrés Cardona Bedoya (; born 8 December 1992) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Nacional. Club career Colombia Cardona made his professional debut ...

. Colombia went on to win in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

2–3. His first international goal came in the next qualifying game against

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

on 29 March 2016. Assisted by Cardona, Pérez scored an acrobatic goal in the 3–1 victory. In May 2018, he was named in Colombia's preliminary 35-man squad for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. However, he did not make the final cut. :

Style of play

Pérez was an amateur footballer, before joining Nacional in 2011, and yet was considered to be a 'pure natural talent' by the Colombian club. He is a well-known versatile player mostly because of his ability to use both feet accurately, as well as carrying 'panoramic vision' as shown through his accurate passing. Despite committing to a defensive midfielder most of the time, Pérez has shown that he is capable of shooting with precision from great distances. He is often regarded very high by many top teams such as

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

because of his potential, led to being almost being signed by each respective club at one point. Pérez also spoke that committing to a defensive midfielder (as well as an overall midfielder in general) role throughout most of his games, was because of his admiration for

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

and

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...

, that inspired him to make a difference in both defending and attacking. This is one of the reasons why he is often seen as a crucial player in counter-attacking.

Personal life

Pérez married Manuela Restrepo in 2015. In July 2016, the couple had their first child, a son. In 2017, Pérez became a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

for ethical reasons.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pérez goal''

Honours

Club

Atlético Nacional *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

(5): 2011-I, 2013-I, 2013-II, 2014-I, 2015-II *

(2):

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 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

(2): 2012, 2016 *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

(1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Boca Juniors * Primera División (1): 2016–17

International

;Colombia *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

: Third place (2)

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 ...

South American Youth Championship South American Youth Championships may refer to: * South American Youth Football Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as South American U-20 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 20, is a South American foo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Sebastian 1993 births Living people People from Envigado Copa Libertadores–winning players Colombian men's footballers Colombia men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Categoría Primera A players Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Ecuadorian Serie A players Primeira Liga players Atlético Nacional footballers Boca Juniors footballers C.F. Pachuca players Barcelona S.C. footballers Boavista F.C. players Colombian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Colombia men's under-20 international footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Copa América Centenario players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics 2021 Copa América players Olympic footballers for Colombia Footballers from Antioquia Department