Piero Hincapié

Piero Martín Hincapié Reyna (; born 9 January 2002) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for club Arsenal and the Ecuador national team.

Club career Early career Hincapié began playing football at the age of seven, initially for local clubs Escuela Refinería, Emelec and Barcelona. Aged ten, the defender moved to Guayaquil with Norte América. Hincapié was promoted into their first-team in August 2019 for a Serie A match with Mushuc Runa.

Bayer Leverkusen

In August 2021, Hincapié signed for German club Bayer Leverkusen. He made his debut on 16 August, coming into the Europa League group stage match against Ferencváros as Leverkusen won 2–1. He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September, and the games' opening goal against Celtic in a 4–0 victory in the Europa League. In the 2023–24 season, Hincapié was part of the Leverkusen team that won the club’s first-ever Bundesliga title, doing so whilst remaining undefeated throughout the entire league season.

Arsenal On 1 September 2025, Hincapié joined Premier League club Arsenal on a season-long loan with an option to buy, initially reported as being worth £45 million (€52 million). He made his debut off the bench against Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Champions League on 16 September, but picked up a groin injury in a training session shortly after. On 26 October, Hincapié made his league debut, also from the bench, against Crystal Palace. He started in his EFL Cup debut on 29 October against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Hincapié scored his first goal for Arsenal on 18 February 2026, in a 2–2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. On 11 March 2026, Hincapié started for Arsenal against his parent club in the UEFA Champions League, playing the entire 1–1 draw in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie at the BayArena. He then played in the second leg at Emirates Stadium on 17 March, as Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2–0 (3–1 on aggregate) win.

Hincapié won the Premier League title in his debut season with the club. He later started in the 2026 Champions League final, where Arsenal lost 4–3 on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain after a 1–1 draw following extra time. On 25 June 2026, it was announced that Arsenal had activated their option to sign Hincapié on a permanent basis for a fee reported to be £34.5 million plus add-ons, on a five-year-contract.

International career

Hincapié appeared for the Ecuador U15s in 2017. On 13 June 2021, Hincapié debuted for the Ecuador senior squad in a 2021 Copa América match against Colombia, playing the full match as Ecuador lost 1–0.

On 14 November 2022, Hincapié was named in Ecuador's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He played 90 minutes in the group stage win against Qatar, the draw against the Netherlands, and defeat against Senegal.

Hincapié was called up to the final 26-man Ecuador squad for the 2024 Copa América.

On 31 May 2026, Hincapié was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On 30 June 2026, Hincapié was sent off by Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić after he was seen covering his mouth while verbally confronting Santiago Giménez, a red card-worthy offense under newly introduced FIFA rules. Ecuador lost the game 0–2 and were eliminated from the FIFA World Cup in that match.

Career statistics Club

Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first.

Honours Independiente del Valle DFB-Pokal: 2023–24 DFL-Supercup: 2024 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2023–24

Arsenal Premier League: 2025–26 FA Community Shield: 2026 EFL Cup runner-up: 2025–26 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2025–26

Individual IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2022 Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2024 IFFHS Men's CONMEBOL Team: 2024 Kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2024–25