César Araújo
Uruguayan footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
César Nahuel Araújo Vilches (born 2 April 2001) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a defensive or central midfielder for Liga MX club Tigres UANL and the Uruguay national team.
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Araújo with Orlando City in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | César Nahuel Araújo Vilches | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Cerrito, Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tigres UANL | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Marconi FC | |||
| Montevideo Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Montevideo Wanderers | 58 | (0) |
| 2022–2025 | Orlando City | 120 | (4) |
| 2026– | Tigres UANL | 15 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024 | Uruguay U23 | 5 | (1) |
| 2024– | Uruguay | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:16, 14 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 June 2024 | |||
Araújo began his senior football career with Montevideo Wanderers, with whom he was named to the Uruguayan Primera División Team of the Year in 2021. In 2022, Araújo joined Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Orlando City, and he helped to win the team's first trophy since joining MLS through winning the 2022 U.S. Open Cup. In 2024, Araújo received his first call-up to the Uruguay national football team.
Club career
Montevideo Wanderers
Growing up in Cerrito, Montevideo, Araújo played for youth club Marconi FC before joining the academy at Montevideo Wanderers. On 1 August 2019, Araújo made his professional debut as a 68th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Brazilian side Corinthians in the 2019 Copa Sudamericana round of 16.[2] He didn't make another senior appearance for 12 months until substituting on for his Uruguayan Primera División debut on 9 August 2020 in a 2–0 win against Boston River.[3] At the end of the 2021 season, Araújo was named on the bench in the Primera División Team of the Year.[4] He was also named Wanderers' Player of the Year in 2021.[5]
Orlando City
On 7 January 2022, Araújo transferred to Major League Soccer team Orlando City for a reported $2,000,000 fee.[6] He signed a three-year contract with an additional option year and joined as part of the new MLS U22 initiative.[7] On 27 May, Araújo was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for failing to leave the field in a timely manner after receiving a red card during a match against Austin FC five days earlier.[8] Having never previously scored a goal in his senior club career spanning 88 matches, Araújo scored his first goals on 27 July when he netted twice during a 5–1 victory over New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.[9] On 7 September, Araújo was part of the squad that won the U.S. Open Cup final 3–0 over Sacramento Republic.[10]
On 4 April 2023, Araújo was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violating the league's simulation/embellishment policy in a match against Nashville SC three days earlier.[11]
On 1 March 2025, Araújo made his 100th appearance for the club in a match against Toronto FC. Araújo scored the opening goal, a free kick which hit the post before going into the goal, before assisting in the third goal of the match scored by Martín Ojeda, helping the match end 4–2 in Orlando City's favor.[12] Araújo's performance saw him named to the Team of the Matchday.[13] On 30 May, Araújo was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for failing to leave the field in a timely manner after receiving a red card in a 3–2 loss to Atlanta United two days earlier in which he had scored the opening goal.[14][15] At the conclusion of the season, Araújo elected to leave at the end of his contract.[16]
Tigres UANL
On 2 February 2026, Araújo joined Liga MX club Tigres UANL.[17] Araújo made his debut four days later as a 77th-minute substitute for Juan Brunetta in a 5–1 win over Santos Laguna.[18][19] Tigres UANL advanced to the final of the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, where they lost 6–5 on penalties to Toluca after a 1–1 full-time draw.[20]
International career
Araújo was named to multiple Uruguay under-20 training camps in 2020 and 2021.[21][22]
On 7 January 2022, Araújo received his first senior Uruguay national team call-up as part of a 50-player preliminary roster for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[23] On 21 October 2022, he was named in Uruguay's 55-man preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[24]
Araújo made his debut on 5 June 2024 in a friendly against Mexico at the Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. He substituted Rodrigo Bentancur in the 89th minute as Uruguay won 4–0.[25]
Personal life
Araújo is the younger brother of professional footballer Maximiliano Araújo.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 9 May 2026[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental[a] | Playoffs | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Montevideo Wanderers | 2019 | Uruguayan Primera División |
0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Uruguayan Primera División |
29 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Uruguayan Primera División |
29 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 0 | ||
| Orlando City | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 32 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | Major League Soccer | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[f] | 1 | 45 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Major League Soccer | 30 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2025 | Major League Soccer | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| Total | 120 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 155 | 7 | ||
| Tigres UANL | 2025–26 | Liga MX | 15 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 193 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 241 | 7 | ||
- Includes Copa Sudamericana, Copa Libertadores, and CONCACAF Champions Cup
- Appearance in Copa Sudamericana
- Appearance in the Torneo Intermedio Final
- Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- Appearance in the Supercopa Uruguaya
- Appearances in Leagues Cup
International
- As of match played 5 June 2024[26]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
Tigres UANL
- CONCACAF Champions Cup: 2026 runners-up[20]
Orlando City
Individual
- Uruguayan Primera División Team of the Year: 2021[28]
