Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo has tragically passed away at the age of 27, just days after collapsing during a match in Brazil, according to his Uruguayan club Nacional and South American football’s governing body.
Nacional expressed profound sorrow in a social media statement, describing the loss as having a “deep impact” on their hearts and noting that “all of Nacional is in grief for his irreplaceable loss.”
The governing body of South American soccer also paid tribute to Izquierdo shortly after he collapsed on the field during a Copa Libertadores game at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium last Thursday. He was initially rushed to Hospital Albert Einstein, where he was reported to be in “stable condition.”
On Tuesday, the hospital revealed that Izquierdo suffered a “cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia.” Earlier, doctors had reported increased intracranial pressure and that he had been on a ventilator since Sunday, receiving neurological critical care.
Uruguayan media reported that Izquierdo’s parents and Nacional executives were present at the Sao Paulo hospital. The footballer was married with two children.
Due to concerns about Izquierdo’s health, Uruguay’s first- and second-division leagues were postponed over the weekend. Sao Paulo players wore supportive shirts before their 2-1 Brazilian league victory against Vitoria on Sunday.
Izquierdo began his professional career in 2018 with local club Cerro, moved to Peñarol the following year, and then joined Montevideo Wanderers.
Signed by Nacional in 2022, he played one match before transferring to Liverpool, where he was instrumental in their Uruguayan league title win in 2023, their first in over a century. He returned to Nacional earlier this year before his untimely death.
