Jairo Vélez
Ecuadorian footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jairo David Vélez Cedeño (born 21 April 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Peruvian Liga 1 club Alianza Lima. Born in Ecuador, he represents the Peru national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jairo David Vélez Cedeño | ||
| Date of birth | 21 April 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | El Carmen, Ecuador | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Alianza Lima | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2010 | Universidad Católica | ||
| 2010–2013 | River Plate Ecuador | ||
| 2013–2014 | Vélez Sársfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | River Plate Ecuador | 12 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | → Vélez Sársfield (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| 2014–2018 | Vélez Sársfield | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Universidad Católica (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Universidad San Martín (loan) | 41 | (7) |
| 2018–2019 | Atlante | 37 | (5) |
| 2019 | Cafetaleros | 12 | (2) |
| 2020–2024 | César Vallejo | 137 | (32) |
| 2025 | Universitario de Deportes | 29 | (3) |
| 2026– | Alianza Lima | 8 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Ecuador U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2026– | Peru | 2 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Vélez climbed through the youth ranks of Universidad Católica, later moving to River Plate Ecuador in 2010, where he debuted in the first team in 2013, scoring twice in the Ecuadorian Serie B. He was then scouted by Vélez Sarsfield along his teammate Danny Cabezas while playing friendly matches for River Plate Ecuador in Argentina.
The striker was first loaned and placed on the club's "5th Division" youth team, scoring 10 goals which helped the youth team win the 5th Division league in 2013. Vélez was then moved to the reserves in the same year[2] and was brought up to the senior team for 2014 under manager Turu Flores, while still on loan. The Ecuadorian made his professional debut for Vélez Sársfield on 27 April, also scoring his first goal for the club in a 4–1 win against Rosario Central.[3] On 15 July 2014, Vélez signed a new three-year contract.[4] Halfway through 2015, he moved to Universidad Católica on loan, where he achieved qualification to the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.
International career
In 2015, Vélez was selected to play for the Ecuador national under-20 football team in the South American Youth Championship.
On 29 January 2026, Vélez's request to switch international allegiance to Peru was approved by FIFA.[5]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 21 March 2026[6]
| Club | Division | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate Ecuador | Ecuadorian Serie B | 2012 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 5 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| Vélez Sársfield | Primera División | 2013-14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Universidad Católica | Ecuadorian Serie A | 2015 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Universidad San Martín | Torneo Descentralizado | 2017 | 41 | 7 | — | — | 41 | 7 | ||
| Atlante | Ascenso MX | 2017-18 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2018-19 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 5 | |||
| Total | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||
| Cafetaleros | Ascenso MX | 2019-20 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 16 | 3 | |
| César Vallejo | Liga 1 | 2020 | 23 | 5 | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||
| 2021 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 21 | 5 | ||
| 2022 | 30 | 9 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 31 | 9 | |||
| 2023 | 33 | 3 | — | 6[c] | 2 | 39 | 5 | |||
| 2024 | 31 | 10 | — | 6[c] | 3 | 37 | 13 | |||
| Total | 137 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 151 | 37 | ||
| Universitario de Deportes | Liga 1 | 2025 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| Alianza Lima | Liga 1 | 2026 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Career total | 277 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 5 | 307 | 59 | ||
- Appearance in Copa Libertadores
- Appearance in Copa Sudamericana
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Peru's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 31 March 2026 | Estadio Ontime Butarque, Leganés, Spain |  Honduras |
1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 2–1 |