Lautaro Martínez

Early career

Martínez was born in Bahía Blanca. He followed in his father's footsteps to become a professional footballer, joining local side Liniers, with whom he excelled at U–17 level. In 2013, he scored 13 goals in the U–17 league and netted in the final of the National Cup, though Liniers ultimately lost on penalties to Rosario.

Racing Club

Martínez's form at youth level caught the attention of Racing Club interim coach Fabio Radaelli who subsequently signed him in January 2014. Soon after joining the club, Martínez began suffering from homesickness and wanted to return to his hometown. He was ultimately convinced by teammate Braian Mansilla to stay and went on to score 53 goals in 64 appearances for the club's reserve side. In 2015, a deal was concluded between Racing Club and Spanish side Real Madrid for Martínez's signature but he chose to remain in Argentina. Martínez's father, Mario later revealed that he chose to stay with Racing at the time as he was not ready to leave the club. His league debut followed on 1 November 2015 when he came on as a second-half substitute for Diego Milito in a 3–0 win over Crucero del Norte. On 17 April 2016, he was sent off for the first time in his career after picking up two bookings in the space of five minutes in a 2–2 draw with Argentinos. He scored his first goal later that year, netting the opener in a 1–1 draw with Huracán in November. Following an injury to regular starting striker Lisandro López, Martínez…

Youth team

In 2017, Martínez represented Argentina at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship where he ended as the tournament's joint-top scorer with five goals, in the process helping Argentina qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was subsequently named in the squad for the World Cup which kicked off in May that year. In the build-up to the tournament, he suffered damage to his nasal cartilage after being struck by a knee in a warm-up match against Vietnam. As a result of the injury, he started Argentina's opening match at the tournament against England from the bench and was later sent off after video technology indicated that he had lashed out at Fikayo Tomori. Upon doing so, he became the first ever player to be dismissed after a video referral, and Argentina ultimately lost the match 3–0. On his return, he scored a brace in a 5–0 win over Guinea, though his goals were not enough to prevent Argentina from being eliminated from the group-stages.

Senior team

On 12 March 2018, Martínez received his first call-up for the senior team for two friendly matches against Italy and Spain. He made his debut against the latter on 27 March, coming on as a substitute for Gonzalo Higuaín in a 6–1 defeat. In May 2018 he was named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but was omitted from the final selection. Later that year, he made his full debut in a 4–0 Superclásico Championship win over Iraq, during which he also scored…

Martínez initially played as a defender in his youth and later switched to a forward, citing Radamel Falcao as one of his influences. A quick and agile player, he is known for his dribbling skills, his prolific goalscoring, his positioning in the box, and his physical strength and aerial prowess despite not being particularly tall; however, he has been criticised by pundits for his lack of accuracy when taking penalties. He also possesses good link-up play and defensive work-rate, and is capable of assisting goals in addition to scoring goals himself; because of this, he can also play as a second striker, aside from his usual role as a striker. Due to his leadership and winning mentality, he has been nicknamed El Toro ("The Bull", in Spanish). In 2020, Spencer Rance of 90min.com regarded Martínez as one of the most promising young players, while manager Mauricio Pochettino regarded him as one of the best strikers of his generation. Former Argentina and Inter striker Hernán Crespo likened Martínez to compatriot Sergio Agüero in 2020.

Since 2016, Martínez has been in a relationship with Agustina Gandolfo, an Argentine entrepreneur and fitness trainer. On 27 May 2023, they got married in Villa d'Este on Lake Como, Italy.