Manuel Lanzini

Early career and beginnings at River Plate

Lanzini stood out in indoor soccer football divisions, demonstrating his skills in the Club Academia Kaly de Ituzaingó class of 1993, a neighbourhood club. Ramón Maddoni, who has discovered players like Juan Román Riquelme, Carlos Tevez and Esteban Cambiasso, wanted to take him to Boca Juniors for a test match but the young Lanzini declined the call, stating that he only aimed to play for the club he supported: River Plate. Eventually, in 2002, he was taken to River Plate. He began training and started as a playmaker in junior divisions before, after several tests, Pedro Vega, ex-player and coach of inferior club divisions, ordered for him to be hired. In 2008, the eighth division team in which he played won its divisional trophy; Lanzini ultimately scored nine goals, only two fewer than fellow attacker Leonardo Salguero, with eleven goals. On 2 November 2008, River Plate won the junior division's Superclásico 3–0 to Boca Juniors with Lanzini scoring two goals and assisting Salguero in one other.

Elevation to first team and debut at River Plate (2010–11 season)

In 2010, Ángel Cappa, River Plate's first team coach, included Lanzini in the team for the winter preseason, disputing several matches in Salta Province. Lanzini made his informal debut in a friendly match against Central Norte, a 3–0 victory, coming on as a second-half substitute for Ariel Ortega. Lanzini then played another friendly match against…

In May 2016, Lanzini was named in Argentina's provisional 35-man squad for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He withdrew from the squad in July 2016 following a knee injury sustained while training in Miami, Florida, returning to London for treatment with West Ham United. In May 2017 Lanzini was named in new Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli's first squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Singapore, with Lanzini making his full international debut on 9 June against Brazil at the MCG in Melbourne, Australia, replacing Ever Banega in the 81st minute of Argentina's 1–0 win. On 23 March 2018 he played a friendly match against Italy at the Ethiad Stadium in Manchester and scored his first international goal as Argentina secured a 2–0 victory. On 21 May 2018 he was named in Argentina's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and started in the 4–0 friendly win against Haiti on 29 May in Buenos Aires, playing an hour before being substituted by Maximiliano Meza. On 8 June 2018, Lanzini was ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a ruptured anterior knee ligament injury during a training session. He was replaced by Enzo Pérez on 9 June.

Club

As of match played 6 February 2026

International

As of match played 10 September 2019

As of 23 March 2018 (Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lanzini goal)

Lanzini was born in Greater Buenos Aires, in Ituzaingó, and raised in San Antonio de Padua. He also holds an Italian passport. His father, Héctor, played for Sporting Cristal and Deportivo Morón, while his brother Tomás has played for Ñublense and Brown de Adrogué. He is outspoken about his support of River Plate, celebrating club victories on social media, and has a tattoo of himself with the River Plate shirt on.