Lucas Alario

Lucas Nicolás Alario (born 8 October 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine Primera División club Estudiantes.

Club career

Colón Born in Tostado, Santa Fe, Alario began his career at Colón in his native province. He made his Argentine Primera División debut on 11 June 2011, as a 59th-minute substitute for Cristian Raúl Ledesma in a 0–1 home defeat to Arsenal. His first goal for the club came on 22 March 2014, a fourth-minute penalty for the only goal of a win against Tigre at the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López. On 12 May 2015, he netted twice in a 3–2 away win at Defensa y Justicia for Colón's first away win of the season.

River Plate On 26 June 2015, Alario became River Plate's fourth signing of the season, joining the Buenos Aires-based club on a four-year contract for a fee of 2.25 million US Dollars. He made his debut on 11 July, replacing Fernando Cavenaghi for the final 30 minutes of a 1–1 home draw against Temperley. Eleven days later, as a substitute, he equalised for a 1–1 draw away to Paraguay's Club Guaraní in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-finals, converting a pass from Tabaré Viúdez to send River through 3–1 on aggregate to their first such finals since 1996. On 5 August, in the second leg of the final after a goalless first, he finished Leonel Vangioni's cross at the end of the first half to open the scoring as his team won 3–0 against Tigres UANL.

Eighteen days after River won the continental championship, Alario was sent off in a 2–1 domestic loss to Estudiantes de La Plata. His first league goals for the Millonarios came in the form of a hat-trick on 6 September, in a 4–1 win away to Nueva Chicago. On 31 October, as a 55th-minute substitute for Nicolás Bertolo, he scored the only goal in a win at Vélez Sarsfield.

On 16 December, in the semi-finals of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in Osaka, Alario headed the only goal to defeat Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Four days later he played the entirety of the final, a 3–0 loss to FC Barcelona.

On 25 August 2016, Alario scored again finishing the game and yet another international title with River Plate in Buenos Aires to take over Recopa Sudamericana 2016. He was rated by many football experts in Argentina as the best striker playing in Argentina.

Bayer Leverkusen On 22 September 2017, Alario signed for German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a 3–0 win over Hamburger SV two days later.

On 18 May 2019, during the final matchday of the 2018–19 Bundesliga campaign, Alario scored three goals in a 5–1 win against Hertha BSC, becoming the first Argentine player to score a hat-trick in the Bundesliga.

In April 2021, Alario suffered a muscle and tendon injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the season. On 2 August, he signed a three-year contract extension with Leverkusen, running until 2024.

Eintracht Frankfurt On 24 June 2022, Alario signed a two-year contract with fellow Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

Internacional On 4 January 2024, Alario moved to Brazil, signing a two-year contract withBrasileiro Série A club Internacional.

International career Alario received his first international call-up for Argentina on 12 August 2016, for matches against Uruguay and Venezuela. Alario had his first appearance on 1 September 2016, coming from the bench replacing Lucas Pratto in the 71st minute during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay. He scored his first international goal when he scored the fifth goal in a 6–0 friendly away win against Singapore on 13 June 2017.

Alario was included in the Argentina squad for the 2021 Copa América, but withdrew due to a thigh injury and was replaced by Julián Álvarez.

Career statistics Club

International

International goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.

International Argentina Superclásico de las Américas: 2017, 2019