César Araújo

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.

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. 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. At the end of the 2021 season, Araújo was named on the bench in the Primera División Team of the Year. He was also named Wanderers' Player of the Year in 2021.

Orlando City On 7 January 2022, Araújo transferred to Major League Soccer team Orlando City for a reported $2,000,000 fee. He signed a three-year contract with an additional option year and joined as part of the new MLS U22 initiative. 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. 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. On 7 September, Araújo was part of the squad that won the U.S. Open Cup final 3–0 over Sacramento Republic.

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.

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. Araújo's performance saw him named to the Team of the Matchday. 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. At the conclusion of the season, Araújo elected to leave at the end of his contract.

Tigres UANL On 2 February 2026, Araújo joined Liga MX club Tigres UANL. Araújo made his debut four days later as a 77th-minute substitute for Juan Brunetta in a 5–1 win over Santos Laguna. 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.

International career Araújo was named to multiple Uruguay under-20 training camps in 2020 and 2021.

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. On 21 October 2022, he was named in Uruguay's 55-man preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he was not included in the final squad, which was announced three weeks later.

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.

Personal life Araújo is also the younger brother of professional footballer Maximiliano Araújo.

Honours Tigres UANL CONCACAF Champions Cup: 2026 runners-up Individual Uruguayan Primera División Team of the Year: 2021