Nicolás de la Cruz
Uruguayan footballer (born 1997)
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Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (born 1 June 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.[2]
 De la Cruz playing for Uruguay U20 in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 June 1997[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Flamengo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2015 | Liverpool Montevideo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Liverpool Montevideo | 35 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2023 | River Plate | 137 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Flamengo | 63 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Uruguay U17 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Uruguay U18 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Uruguay U20 | 26 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Uruguay | 37 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 June 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
River Plate
On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.[3]
Flamengo
On 24 December 2023, it was announced that de la Cruz would join Brazilian club Flamengo at the start of the 2024 season, signing a four-year contract.[4][5]
International career
De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team.[6] He was captain of Uruguay under-20 team which won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[7]
On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-man preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador.[8] He was later included in the final squad and made his senior debut on 8 October 2020 in Uruguay's 2–1 win against Chile. He started the match and played 55 minutes before getting replaced by Nahitan Nández.[9]
On 31 May 2026, de la Cruz was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[10]
Personal life
De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez.[11] Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 29 July 2026[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2015–16 | Uruguayan Primera División | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2016-17 | Uruguayan Primera División | 18 | 7 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 19 | 7 | |||
| Total | 35 | 8 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 8 | ||||
| River Plate | 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 8[c] | 3 | 30 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 12[b] | 3 | 1[d] | 1 | 35 | 8 | |
| 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| 2022 | Argentine Primera División | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7[b] | 2 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2023 | Argentine Primera División | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7[b] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 7 | |
| Total | 137 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 49 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 214 | 36 | ||
| Flamengo | 2024 | Série A | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 9[b] | 0 | 11[e] | 0 | 41 | 2 |
| 2025 | Série A | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[b] | 1 | 10[f] | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2026 | Série A | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 4[g] | 1 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 45 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 95 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 217 | 33 | 26 | 0 | 68 | 10 | 35 | 5 | 345 | 48 | ||
- Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup and Recopa Sudamericana
- Appearances in Supercopa Argentina
- Appearances in Campeonato Carioca
- Five appearances in Campeonato Carioca, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup, three appearances in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
- One Appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, one appearance in Recopa Sudamericana, two appearances and one goal in Campeonato Carioca
International
- As of match played 26 June 2026[2]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de la Cruz goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 June 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Panama | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 September 2022 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Canada | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 September 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Chile | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 3–1 | |||||
| 5 | 17 October 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Brazil | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Liverpool Montevideo
- Segunda División: 2014–15
River Plate
- Copa Argentina: 2017, 2019
- Supercopa Argentina: 2017, 2019
- Copa Libertadores: 2018
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2019
- Argentine Primera División: 2021, 2023
- Trofeo de Campeones: 2021, 2023
Flamengo
- FIFA Challenger Cup: 2025[14]
- FIFA Derby of the Americas: 2025[15]
- Copa Libertadores: 2025[16]
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2025[17]
- Copa do Brasil: 2024
- Supercopa do Brasil: 2025[18]
- Campeonato Carioca: 2024, 2025, 2026
Uruguay U20
Uruguay
- Copa América third place: 2024[19]
Individual
- South American Team of the Year: 2023
- Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024[20]
