Mateo Retegui
Footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mateo Retegui (born 29 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Italy national team.
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Retegui with Italy in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mateo Retegui[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 29 April 1999[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | San Fernando, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al-Qadsiah | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 32 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | River Plate | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Boca Juniors | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Boca Juniors | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Estudiantes (loan) | 21 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Talleres (loan) | 24 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | → Tigre (loan) | 48 | (30) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Genoa | 29 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Atalanta | 36 | (25) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Al-Qadsiah | 27 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Argentina U20 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Italy | 28 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:16, 9 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Early life
Retegui was born and raised in Argentina. His maternal grandfather, Angelo Dimarco, emigrated to Argentina from Canicattì, Sicily. His father's grandparents on one side of the family were also Italian, specifically from Genoa, while the paternal ancestors were originally Basque (the surname Retegui being from Gipuzkoa, Spain).
He is the son of former field hockey player Carlos Retegui, who represented Argentina as a player and coach at various Pan American Games and Olympic Games.[4] His sister Micaela is also an Olympian field hockey player.
Club career
Early career in Argentina
Retegui began his senior career with Boca Juniors, who signed him years prior from River Plate.[5][4] He was first promoted into the club's first-team by manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto during the 2017–18 Argentine Primera División season, appearing as an unused substitute on occasions against Arsenal de Sarandí and Estudiantes in December 2017.[6][7] His professional debut arrived on 17 November 2018, with the forward being substituted on for the final moments of a 1–0 home win over Patronato.[6]
January 2019 saw Retegui loaned to Estudiantes for eighteen months.[3][6] He appeared eight times in 2018–19, before scoring five goals in twenty-one appearances in 2019–20.[6]
In February 2022, Retegui joined Tigre on a loan deal until the end of 2023.[8]
Genoa
On 26 July 2023, Retegui joined Serie A club Genoa on a five-year deal,[9] for a reported fee of €15 million.[10] On 11 August 2023, he scored his first two goals for the club in a Coppa Italia match against Serie B side Modena.[11]
Atalanta
Retegui moved to fellow Serie A club Atalanta in a deal worth a reported €28 million on 8 August 2024, following an anterior cruciate ligament injury to Atalanta forward and Italy teammate Gianluca Scamacca.[12][13] Later that year, on 26 November, he scored his first Champions League goals by netting a brace in a 6–1 away victory over Young Boys.[14] He scored four goals in a 5–0 demolition of Hellas Verona on 8 February 2025, in which he became the first player to score a first-half hat-trick for Atalanta in Serie A.[15] A month later, on 9 March, he scored from the penalty spot in a 4–0 away win over Juventus, handing them their worst home defeat since 1967.[16] He concluded the 2024–25 season as the Capocannoniere, netting 25 goals and becoming only the second Atalanta player to earn the title after Filippo Inzaghi in the 1996–97 campaign.[17]
Al-Qadsiah
On 21 July 2025, Retegui joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah for a reported transfer fee of €65 million.[18] A month later, on 30 August, he marked his league debut with a brace in a 3–1 win over Al-Najma.[19]
International career
Retegui represented Argentina at U19 and U20 level, including for the latter at the 2018 South American Games.[20][21]
Being eligible to play for Italy through descent, in February 2023 it was reported Retegui was pre-selected by Roberto Mancini to join the Azzurri team for the first UEFA Euro 2024 qualification games.[22] Retegui received his first official call up to the Italy national team on 17 March 2023,[23] and proceeded to score in his international debut on 23 March against England in a Euro 2024 qualifying match lost 2–1 in Naples.[24] He would tally again in his subsequent appearance on 26 March, netting the winner in a 2–0 win over Malta in a Euro 2024 qualifier in Ta' Qali,[25] to become the first player to score in his first two competitive matches for the national side since Pierino Prati accomplished the feat in 1968.[26]
On 21 March 2024, Retegui scored twice in a 2–1 victory over Venezuela. He was the first Genoa player to score a brace for Italy since Virgilio Levratto at the 1928 Summer Olympics.[27][28] In June 2024, Retegui was included by manager Luciano Spalletti in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[29] Later that year, on 6 September, he was named player of the match, in which he also provided an assist, in a 3–1 away win over France during the UEFA Nations League, helping his country to secure their first win against their opponent in Paris since April 1954.[30][31]
On 14 October 2025, Retegui scored twice in a 3–0 win against Israel during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.[32]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 9 April 2026[6]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Boca Juniors | 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Estudiantes (loan) | 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 18 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 21 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 | ||
| Talleres (loan) | 2020 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 24 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 48 | 6 | ||
| Total | 24 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 7 | ||
| Tigre (loan) | 2022 | Argentine Primera División | 27 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | — | 1[e] | 1 | 42 | 23 | |
| 2023 | Argentine Primera División | 21 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 1 | — | 28 | 12 | |||
| Total | 48 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 35 | ||
| Genoa | 2023–24 | Serie A | 29 | 7 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 31 | 9 | |||
| Atalanta | 2024–25 | Serie A | 36 | 25 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[f] | 3 | 1[g] | 0 | 49 | 28 | |
| Al-Qadsiah | 2025–26 | Saudi Pro League | 27 | 15 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 1[h] | 0 | 30 | 18 | ||
| Career total | 186 | 84 | 18 | 6 | 38 | 6 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 271 | 102 | ||
- Includes Copa Argentina, Coppa Italia, King's Cup
- Includes Copa de la Liga Profesional
- Appearances in Copa de la Superliga
- Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- Appearance in Trofeo de Campeones
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
- Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[33]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2023 | 4 | 2 |
| 2024 | 14 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 11 | |
- Italy score listed first, score column indicates score after each Retegui goal.[33]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 2023 | Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy | 1 |  England | 1–2 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [34] |
| 2 | 26 March 2023 | National Stadium, Attard, Malta | 2 |  Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [35] |
| 3 | 21 March 2024 | Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | 5 |  Venezuela | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | [36] |
| 4 | 2–1 | |||||||
| 5 | 10 October 2024 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy | 15 |  Belgium | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [37] |
| 6 | 14 October 2024 | Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy | 16 |  Israel | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [38] |
| 7 | 5 September 2025 | Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo, Italy | 21 |  Estonia | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [39] |
| 8 | 4–0 | |||||||
| 9 | 11 October 2025 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 23 | Estonia | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [40] |
| 10 | 14 October 2025 | Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy | 24 | Israel | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [41] |
| 11 | 2–0 |
Honours
Individual