Rodrigo Bentancur

Boca Juniors

On 12 April 2015, he made his first team debut for the Boca Juniors in a league game against Nueva Chicago. He replaced Pablo Pérez after 77 minutes in a 0–0 home draw. His stint at Boca is mainly remembered for his significant mistake against San Lorenzo, when he passed the ball to a rival forward (Mauro Matos) who then easily scored a last-minute victory goal that put his team at the top of the league, above Boca (in spite of this, they ended up winning the 2015 Argentine Primera División). He would make a similar mistake some years later, this time playing for Juventus, with a back-pass blunder inside his own penalty area which put his team one nil down in the first seconds of the game, in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 (they ended up being eliminated due to the away goals rule). On 13 July 2015, Bentancur, Guido Vadalá, Franco Cristaldo and Adrián Cubas became part of Carlos Tevez's deal, which saw Juventus have the first option to sign the youngsters until 20 April 2017, with Vadalá also joining Juventus on loan for the 2015–2017 seasons. Bentancur was tagged for €9.4 million. Juventus's CEO Giuseppe Marotta later confirmed that Juventus would be exercising their option to sign Bentancur in 2017. He arrived in Turin on 3 April 2017 and completed his medical on the same day. On 21 April 2017 Juventus completed their acquisition of Bentancur, signing him on a five-year deal effective from 1 July 2017 until 30 June 2022 for a €9.5…

Bentancur was a member of Uruguay national under-20 team, winning the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and finishing fourth at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In September 2017, Bentancur received his first senior call-up to the Uruguay national team by manager Óscar Tabárez for the team's upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia in October. He made his international debut on 5 October, coming on as a substitute in Uruguay's 0–0 away draw against Venezuela. He was named in the squad for the China Cup in March 2018. In May 2018, Bentancur was named in Uruguay's provisional 26-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was later included in the team's final 23-man squad for the tournament. He appeared in Uruguay's opening match of the tournament on 15 June, a 1–0 victory over Egypt at the Yekaterinburg Arena. In the Round of 16 match against Portugal on 30 June, he set-up Edinson Cavani's second goal in an eventual 2–1 victory. Uruguay were eliminated from the tournament following a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals on 6 July. Bentancur was a member of Uruguay's squads for both the 2019 and 2021 Copas Américas. The team reached the quarter-finals on both occasions, being eliminated by Peru and Colombia respectively, both in penalty shootouts. On 2 February 2022, Bentancur scored his first goal for Uruguay in a 4–1 win over Venezuela in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier. In November of the same year, he was named in…

A dynamic, hard-working, and tactically versatile midfielder, who is comfortable using either foot, Bentancur has been described as a tall and "physically strong" player, who is capable of playing in any midfield position, including as a defensive midfielder, as a central midfielder, as a winger on either flank, in a box-to-box role, or even as a mezzala, or as an attacking midfielder behind the forward, due to his ability to make attacking runs from behind. He also possesses good close control, technique, and quick footwork, which enable him to get past opponents when in possession, while his vision, intelligence, personality, and incisive passing also allow him to set the tempo of his team's play in a more creative role as a regista deep in midfield, and create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates after winning back the ball. His height and strong frame also enable him to act as a "target man" in an advanced midfield role; he has even played as a second striker on occasion.

Bentancur was born on 25 June 1997 in Nueva Helvecia, Colonia to Roberto Bentancur and Mary Colmán. He has a younger brother, Damián, and was nicknamed Lolo growing up as Damián couldn't pronounce Rodrigo as a child. Bentancur is of Irish, Spanish, and Swiss descent.

When Bentancur was four years of age, his mother died of an undisclosed illness. Thereafter, he wore the number 30 shirt in her honour; an homage of her birthday. Roberto eventually remarried to Cecilia Agredi, an Argentine of Italian descent. Together, the two bore female twins, Cande and Mica, Rodrigo and Damián's half-sisters. Passionate about football since childhood, Bentancur eventually enrolled in Boca Juniors youth academy in 2009 after Horacio Anselmi, a longtime representative for the club, scouted him.