Enzo Barrenechea
Argentine footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enzo Alan Tomás Barrenechea (born 22 May 2001) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enzo Alan Tomás Barrenechea | ||
| Date of birth | 22 May 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Villa María, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Benfica | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Newell's Old Boys | ||
| 2019–2020 | Sion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Sion B | 7 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Juventus Next Gen[α] | 37 | (5) |
| 2022–2024 | Juventus | 3 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Frosinone (loan) | 36 | (0) |
| 2024–2026 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Valencia (loan) | 30 | (1) |
| 2025–2026 | → Benfica (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| 2026– | Benfica | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:44, 2 May 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
In his early years, Barrenechea played for Newell's Old Boys.[2] In the summer of 2019, he moved to Sion for €3.1 million.[3]
Juventus
In the winter of 2020, Barranechea moved to Juventus U23 – the reserve team of Juventus.[3] He made his debut with Juventus U23 on 25 October 2020, in an away win against Lucchese.[4] On 22 May 2021, Barrenechea injured his ACL.[5] On 20 February 2022, Barrenechea returned from his injury coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute against Seregno[6] in a 2–2 draw.[7] On 2 April, Barrenechea scored the first goal in his career in a 1–1 draw against Virtus Verona.[8] On 21 May, Barrenechea scored a 12th-minute decider in the second leg of the second round of the play-offs - a 1–0 win against Padova, which did not prevent Juventus from being eliminated from the play-offs.[9]
Barrenechea started to get first-team call-ups in the 2022–23 season. He made his debut for Juventus on 2 November 2022 as an 88th-minute substitute for Juan Cuadrado in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League loss against Paris Saint-Germain.[10] By mid-February 2023, he was moved to the senior squad on a permanent basis. He made his Serie A debut for Juventus on 28 February 2023 against Torino.[11] On 1 April, Juventus announced his definitive promotion to the first team.[12]
Loan to Frosinone
On 15 August 2023, Barrenechea was sent on loan to newly-promoted Serie A club Frosinone for the 2023–24 season.[13] He made his debut for the club four days later, coming on as a late substitute for Abdou Harroui in a 3–1 league defeat to Napoli.[14] On 19 December, he scored his first goal for Frosinone in a 4–0 Coppa Italia win over Napoli.[15][16]
Aston Villa
On 1 July 2024, Barrenechea signed for Premier League club Aston Villa on a permanent deal, as part of a double-transfer from Juventus, alongside Samuel Iling-Junior.[17][18][19] The deal commanded an €8 million fee, plus €3 million in add-ons,[17][19] and was related to the transfer of Douglas Luiz to Juventus, despite being a separate transaction.[17][20]
Loan to Valencia
On 30 August 2024, Barrenechea signed for La Liga club Valencia on a season-long loan.[21] He scored against Getafe CF in October 2024.[22]
Benfica
On 18 July 2025, Barrenechea signed for Primeira Liga club Benfica on a season-long loan.[23] The transfer was reported to have a €3 million loan fee, with an obligation if certain terms were met to make the transfer permanent for a further €12 million and a 30% sell-on clause.[24][25] On 7 October 2025, it was reported that Barrenechea had made enough appearances to trigger a permanent transfer the following summer.[26]
International career
Barrenechea was called up to the Argentina U20 side by Lionel Scaloni for the 2018 COTIF Tournament in Spain.[27]
Style of play
Barrenechea is a defensive midfielder, who has drawn comparisons to Paul Pogba and Steven Nzonzi due to his playing style.[2]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 August 2026[28]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Juventus Next Gen[α] | 2020–21 | Serie C | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Serie C | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 5[c] | 1 | 13 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Serie C | 26 | 4 | — | — | — | 5[d] | 0 | 31 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 5 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | 47 | 6 | |||||
| Juventus | 2022–23 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Frosinone (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| Aston Villa | 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Valencia (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Benfica (loan) | 2025–26 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13[f] | 1 | 1[g] | 0 | 43 | 2 |
| Benfica | 2026–27 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[h] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Benfica total | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 132 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 169 | 10 | ||
- Includes Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey, Taça de Portugal
- Includes Taça da Liga
- Appearances in Serie C promotion play-offs
- Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
- One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Benfica