Exequiel Palacios


Exequiel Alejandro Palacios is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Bayer Leverkusen and the Argentina national team.

Club career

River Plate

Palacios is a youth exponent from Club Atlético River Plate. He made his league debut on 8 November 2015 against Newell's Old Boys.
On 9 December 2018 Palacios won 2018 Copa Libertadores with River Plate. He played 11 matches including 2018 [Copa Libertadores finals|the finals] against rivals Boca Juniors.
Palacios was part of 2018 [South American Footballer of the Year|2018 South American Team of the Year].
Palacios made his final appearance for his boyhood club in the final of the Copa Argentina on 13 December 2019, playing 79 minutes of a 3–0 victory over Central Córdoba.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 16 December 2019, Bayer Leverkusen announced that Palacios would join the club on 1 January 2020, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal.
On 14 April 2024, Bayer Leverkusen won 2023–24 Bundesliga and Palacios was a member of the team.

International career

Palacios made his international debut for Argentina on 8 September 2018 in a 3–0 international friendly against the Guatemala national football team.
On 12 November 2020, Palacios fractured a bone in his spine during a 1–1 draw with Paraguay in a 2022 [FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|World Cup qualifier] and was expected be out for three months. Palacios sustained the injury in an aerial duel with Angel Romero in the first half of the contest at La Bombonera and was replaced by Giovani Lo Celso, who took the corner from which Nicolas Gonzalez headed home Argentina's equaliser.
On 10 July 2021, Palacios played as a second-half substitute in Argentina's 1–0 victory over Brazil in the 2021 [Copa América final|Copa América final]. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Palacios featured in a 2–0 win over Mexico in the group stage phase, a 2–1 victory over Australia in the round of 16, and a 3–0 win over Croatia in their semi-finals.
In June 2024, Palacios was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.

Honours

River Plate
Bayer Leverkusen
Argentina