Nicolás de la Cruz

River Plate

On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.

Flamengo

On 24 December 2023, it was announced that de la Cruz would join Brazilian club Flamengo at the start of the 2024 season, signing a four-year contract.

De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team. He was captain of Uruguay under-20 team which won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-man preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador. He was later included in the final squad and made his senior debut on 8 October 2020 in Uruguay's 2–1 win against Chile. He started the match and played 55 minutes before getting replaced by Nahitan Nández. On 31 May 2026, de la Cruz was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Club

As of match played 29 July 2026

International

As of match played 26 June 2026

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de la Cruz goal.

De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez. Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.