Enzo Nicolás Pérez (; born 22 February 1986) is an Argentine 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

club River Plate. Pérez played four years for

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

in Portugal, where he won five trophies, most notably the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season, and reached two consecutive

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

finals.

Club career

Early career

Born in Maipú, Mendoza, Pérez began his career in

Deportivo Maipú Club Deportivo Maipú, mostly known as Deportivo Maipú is an Argentine football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which ass ...

, like his father, and started his professional playing career with Godoy Cruz, where he wrote his name into club history by scoring a fifth-minute goal in the 1–1 draw with Belgrano on 9 September 2006. This was the first goal ever scored by Godoy Cruz in the Argentine first division. In total, he scored 12 goals in his career at Godoy Cruz, most coming from penalties. In 2007, Pérez joined

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

, where he finished as runner-up with the team in the

2008 Copa Sudamericana The 2008 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes was the seventh edition of the Copa Sudamericana football tournament. The draw for the tournament took place on June 10, 2008 in Buenos Aires and the competition was played between July 30 and December 3. Arsen ...

. He was then a first team regular in the team that won the

2009 Copa Libertadores The 2009 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2009 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. The ...

Benfica

On 8 June 2011, Pérez signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica for a fee rumored to be around €5.5 million for his full rights from Estudiantes. After a serious knee injury sustained in the Champions League qualifiers, Pérez was loaned back to Estudiantes for six months on 9 February 2012. On 27 July 2012, at the Eusébio Cup, Pérez scored a long-range goal against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

from a tight angle to complete a 5–2 win. In the 2012–13 season, Pérez was successfully converted into a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, partnering with

Nemanja Matić Nemanja Matić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Матић, ; born 1 August 1988) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon. Matić began his senior career at ...

, assuming a central role in the team. In the 2013–14 season, his influence was further increased after the departure of Matić to Chelsea on 15 January 2014, becoming a vital piece in Benfica's domestic treble (

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 ...

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

and

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

) and their second consecutive Europa League Final. Pérez, however, was not present in the eventual loss on penalties (4–2) to

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

in the final, having picked up a suspension in the semi-final against

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 ...

on 1 May 2014. His performances attracted attention from other clubs, while Benfica manager Jorge Jesus named Pérez his side's most difficult player to replace and the "brain" of the team. On 6 July 2014, Pérez won the

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

award. At the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Pérez won the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

, thus winning all four Portuguese titles with Benfica in the 2014 calendar year.

Valencia

On 2 January 2015, Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

signed Pérez for a transfer fee of €25 million, the tenth-highest ever fee for an Argentine player. On 4 January, he debuted for Valencia in a home win over Real Madrid (2–1) in La Liga.

River Plate

On 29 June 2017, Pérez returned to Argentina and signed for River Plate. Ahead of a

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 ...

match on 19 May 2021, River Plate announced that over twenty players, including all four rostered goalkeepers, would miss the match due to a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

outbreak within the squad. With no substitutes, the injured Pérez volunteered to play in goal for the entirety of the match against Colombian side

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Cam ...

in which River Plate won 2–1. Pérez made a number of key saves and was awarded with the man of the match for his performance. On 21 April 2021, Pérez extended his contract until December 2023.

Return to Estudiantes

In January 2024, Pérez returned to Estudiantes for a third spell, signing a one-year contract.

International career

Pérez made his Argentina senior squad debut on 30 September 2009 under then-manager

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, an eventual 2–0 victory for the ''Albicelestes''. On 2 June 2014, Pérez was called up for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

by manager Alejandro Sabella. After midfielder Ángel Di María sustained an injury in the quarter-finals, Pérez started in his place in both the semi-final and

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, which Argentina lost 1–0 after extra time. In May 2018, Pérez was named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the

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

, but did not make the final list. However, on 9 June 2018, he was called up as a replacement for the injured

Manuel Lanzini Manuel Lanzini (; born 15 February 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera División club Club Atlético River Plate, River Pl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Godoy Cruz *

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

: 2005–06 Estudiantes *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: 2010 Apertura *

Copa de la Liga Profesional The Copa de la Liga Profesional (English: ''Professional League Cup''; officially named "Copa Diego Armando Maradona" in its first edition) was an official Argentine football cup competition. The cup was planned and organised by the "Liga Profes ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional:

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

runner-up:

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Benfica *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: 2013–14 *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14 River Plate *

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Supercopa Argentina:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional:

Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

runner-up:

Individual *

Team of the Tournament:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

*South American Team of the Year: 2019, 2020 * O Jogo Team of the Year: 2013 * LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year: 2013–14

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Enzo 1986 births Living people People from Maipú, Argentina Footballers from Mendoza Province Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers S.L. Benfica footballers Valencia CF players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Copa Libertadores–winning players Argentine Primera División players Primeira Liga players La Liga players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen