Marcelo Josemir Saracchi Pintos (born 23 April 1998) is a Uruguayan 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

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

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

and the Uruguay national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital and most populous city of the Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Located on the banks of the Uruguay River, it is the country's List of cities in Uruguay, fourth-largest city and a vital cultural and economic hu ...

, Saracchi joined hometown club Progreso Paysandú at the age of ten, spending five years in their youth system. Saracchi then joined the youth ranks of

Danubio Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan association football, football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División. Founded in 1945, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo Ma ...

Danubio

In July 2015, Saracchi was moved to the Danubio first team. He was included in the matchday squad for the first time on 12 August for Danubio's

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

match against Universidad Católica. During that match, Saracchi was subbed on for Ignacio González in the 77th minute, but his competitive debut for the club was cut short when he was subbed off five minutes later following Alejandro Peña's second yellow card and subsequent sending off. The following weekend, Saracchi made his Primera División debut, making another substitute appearance, this time replacing Leandro Sosa in the 63rd minute of a 2-0 away victory over Juventud. A month later, Saracchi made his first start for the club in a 1-1 draw against

Sud América Institución Atlética Sud América, usually known as Sud América or just IASA, is a football club from Montevideo. They currently play in the Uruguayan Segunda Division. History Sud América was formed from the team formerly known as the "Mo ...

in league play. After breaking into the first team throughout the 2015–16 season, Saracchi scored his first goal for the club, in the 77th minute of a 4-1 defeat to

Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...

late in the Clausura tournament. It would be his only goal of the season. Saracchi would go on to make 57 appearances for the club, 54 in the league and three in the

, alongside netting against

El Tanque Sisley El Tanque Sisley is a football club from Montevideo in Uruguay. They currently play in the Uruguayan 3rd Division. The club were founded in 1955 with the name ''Club Atlético El Tanque'', on December 15, 1981 the club were amalgamated with '' ...

and

again for a total of three goals with Danubio.

River Plate

In August 2017, alterations of foreign player requirements in the

paved the way for Saracchi to sign with River Plate, with the Argentine club paying around €2 million for his services. Saracchi made his debut for the club on 10 September 2017, playing the entirety of a 3-1 league victory over Banfield. Despite spending only one season with the club, Saracchi won several trophies, appearing against

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and

Atlético Tucumán Club Atlético Tucumán (mostly known as Atlético Tucumán) is an Argentine football club based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán of Tucumán Province. Although several sports are practised at the club, Atlético is mostly known for its footba ...

as River Plate won the

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 ...

, and then against

in the

Supercopa Argentina The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official national association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being con ...

. In March 2018, interest in Saracchi was reported from Italian clubs

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and

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 ...

, although no formal bid was submitted from either club. Throughout 31 appearances in all competitions for River Plate, Saracchi scored once, the opener in River Plate's 4-1 victory over Atlanta.

RB Leipzig

In the summer of 2018, Saracchi moved to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

club

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

for a transfer fee of around €12 million. He made his competitive debut for the club on 26 July 2018, registering 88 minutes before being replaced by

Nordi Mukiele Nordi Mukiele Mulere (born 1 November 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for club Paris Saint-Germain. Early life Mukiele was born in Montreuil, France on 1 November 1997. He is of Congolese des ...

in a 4-0 victory over

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

during

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 ...

qualification. During his first two seasons with Leipzig, Saracchi was mainly a fringe player, making 13 league appearances, eight of which were starts. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 September 2019, netting in the 83rd minute of a 3-0 away victory over

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. His contract was terminated on 19 December 2021 by mutual consent.

Galatasaray

In January 2020, Saracchi moved on a year-and-a-half long loan to

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, arriving alongside

Henry Onyekuru Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği, and the Nigeria national team. Club career Eupen Onyekuru began his football career with the Aspi ...

. Saracchi made his debut for the club on 10 January 2020 in a friendly against

Altay Altai or Altay may refer to: Places *Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia In China *Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China *Altay City (阿勒� ...

. He made his competitive debut for the club a little over a week later, playing the entirety of a 2-1 home victory over

Denizlispor Denizlispor is a Turkish sports club based in Denizli. It is known by its distinct green and black colors. The club's branches include football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics. The Denizli Atatürk Stadium, which has a seati ...

. Saracchi registered his first assist for the club in that match, providing the pass for

Emre Akbaba Emre Akbaba (born 4 October 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Turkish club Eyüpspor in the Süper Lig. Born in France, he represented the Turkey national team. Club career Galatasaray 2018–19 season In th ...

's 26th-minute opener.

Levante

On 22 February 2022, Saracchi signed with Levante in Spain until 2024, with an option to extend for three more seasons.

International career

Saracchi is a former Uruguay youth international and was part of the under-20 team which won the

2017 South American U-20 Championship The 2017 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was the 28th edition of the South American Youth Football Championship, a football competition for the under-20 national teams in South America organized by CONMEBOL. It was held in Ecuador f ...

. Saracchi made his senior international debut on 12 October 2018, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for

Diego Laxalt Diego Sebastián Laxalt Suárez (; born 7 February 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow and the Uruguay national team. For the most of his career, he play ...

in a 2-1 friendly defeat against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Saracchi was included in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

's squad for the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

, but remained as an unused substitute in Uruguay's all four matches. In September 2024, Saracchi was called up to the Uruguay national team for the first time in five years.

Personal life

Born in Uruguay, Saracchi is of Italian descent.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

River Plate *

: 2016–17 *

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 ...

RB Leipzig *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Uruguay U20 *

South American U-20 Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as South American U-20 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 20, is a South American football tournament organized by the CONMEBOL for South American national teams of men under age o ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Uruguayan Football Association website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saracchi, Marcelo 1998 births Living people Footballers from Paysandú Men's association football defenders Uruguayan men's footballers Uruguay men's international footballers Uruguay men's youth international footballers Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguayan sportspeople of Italian descent Danubio F.C. players Club Atlético River Plate footballers RB Leipzig players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Levante UD footballers Boca Juniors footballers Uruguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Germany Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain 2019 Copa América players