Gonzalo Montiel


Gonzalo Ariel Montiel is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as right-back for the Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Argentina national team.
Montiel began his professional career with River Plate in 2016, playing 140 games and winning honours including the Argentine Primera División in 2021 and the Copa Libertadores in 2018. In 2021, he signed for Sevilla for €11 million, and was loaned to English side Nottingham Forest for the 2023–24 season before returning to Seville for another year. Then, four years after his departure from Argentina, Montiel returned in January 2025 to River Plate.
Montiel made his senior international debut for Argentina in 2019. He was a part of the squads that won the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 and the FIFA World Cup in 2022, scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out of the latter final.
IG gonzalo_montiel29

Club career

River Plate

Born in González Catán, Buenos Aires Province, Montiel was a product of the Club Atlético River Plate academy. In October 2015, manager Marcelo Gallardo called the 18-year-old up for the first time for an Argentine Primera División game at Defensa y Justicia; he was unused in the 1–0 loss on 15 October. He made his debut on 30 April 2016 in his one appearance of that season, as a half-time substitute for Pablo Carreras in a goalless draw at home to Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield; Gallardo had made 11 changes to his team with an eye to a Copa Libertadores second leg against C.S.D. Independiente del Valle.
Montiel played four league matches the 2016–17 season. On 30 October, he was sent off in a 2–2 draw at Arsenal de Sarandí. He lifted the Copa Argentina trophy after playing all the matches from the last 16 to the final, in which his team beat Atlético Tucumán. He played in the 2017 Copa Libertadores, scoring a goal and assisting three, playing every minute from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals, where River Plate were defeated by Club Atlético Lanús; his first career goal came on 1 November in a 4–2 loss at Lanús.
In the 2017–18 season, Montiel played 35 matches, fifteen of them coming in the league. He made 14 appearances he made as the team lifted the Copa Libertadores at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors. Playing five matches in the Copa Argentina, the team were eliminated on penalties in the semi-finals against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. The team secured a double that season as they beat Boca in the Supercopa Argentina.
The following season, Montiel played 12 matches in the league without being substituted. For the second season in a row, Montiel reached the Copa Libertadores final after twelve matches; however, River Plate would be defeated by CR Flamengo. He won the Copa Argentina once more as River beat Central Córdoba - he played every minute in the cup run. After winning last season's Copa Libertadores, River contested the FIFA Club World Cup where they finished third. An injury prevented him from playing in the Super Cup. After recovering, he returned to contest the Recopa as River overcame a 1–0 first-leg defeat to win the trophy with a 3–0 win against Club Athletico Paranaense.
On 20 February 2021, Montiel scored his first league goal for River, a penalty in a 3–0 win against Rosario Central in the first game at the Estadio Monumental after a six-month renovation.

Sevilla

On 13 August 2021, La Liga club Sevilla FC signed Montiel on a five-year deal for €11 million. Manager Julen Lopetegui signed him to compete with club icon Jesús Navas at right back after the exit of Aleix Vidal. He made his debut on 14 September in a UEFA Champions League group stage 1–1 home draw against FC Red Bull Salzburg, replacing Navas for the last three minutes. Eight days later, he made his league bow by starting against Valencia CF at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, scoring in the 15th minute of a 3–1 win before making way for Navas before the hour.
Montiel was sent off on 6 November 2022 in a 1–1 Seville derby draw at Real Betis for a 38th-minute foul on Álex Moreno. On 31 May 2023, he scored the winning penalty in the Europa League final against Roma in a 4–1 victory in the penalty shootouts after a 1–1 draw, which secured their seventh title in the competition.

Loan to Nottingham Forest

On 23 August 2023, Montiel signed for Premier League club Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent. He became the third Argentine in history to sign with the club.

Return to Sevilla

After one season in the Premier League, Montiel returned to Sevilla after completing his loan spell for Nottingham Forest after playing 802 minutes for the English team. Forest had shown interest in signing him permanently, as well as fellow English side Everton FC and the Dutch team Feyenoord, but ultimately Montiel returned to Spain.

Return to River Plate

During the European winter club transfer period, Montiel was sold from Seville in January 2025 to his former club River Plate for a fee of $4.5 million, with a potential extra $500,000 for performance based results. His contract is until December 2028. He returned to his first club where he made 140 appearances with 6 goals from his debut in 2016.

International career

In March 2019, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni called up Montiel as one of ten domestic-based players for friendlies against Venezuela and Morocco. He made his debut on 22 March against Venezuela at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, playing the entirety of a 3–1 loss.
On 11 June 2021, Montiel was one of the 28-man squad announced by Argentina for the 2021 Copa América tournament. He played four of the seven matches played by the team in the tournament including the final victory, which he had to complete with a bleeding ankle as a result of a tackle from Fred in the first half of the game.
In November 2022, Montiel was named in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During the tournament, he played against Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, and the final against France. In the final, he conceded a penalty late in extra time after a handball. Kylian Mbappé then scored to make it 3-3, taking the final to a penalty shootout. After Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni missed their penalties, Montiel scored the tournament-winning penalty kick for Argentina in a 4–2 victory.
In June 2024, Montiel was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América, also won by Argentina.

Personal life

Montiel is from the Greater Buenos Aires area. His cousin, Santiago Montiel, is also a footballer.

False abuse allegations

In June 2023, Mundo Deportivo reported that Argentine police had charged Montiel with sexual abuse in relation to an alleged incident on 1 January 2019, despite Montiel denying the allegations. Later in 2024, Montiel was ordered by a judge to undergo two separate psychiatric evaluations in Argentina. Yet, his lawyer asserted there was no evidence or testimony relating Montiel to the case, and expects it to be dismissed. Then, in due process, Montiel was acquitted of the sexual assault charge when the accusation was deemed to be "totally false". The case was dismissed in court during December 2024.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
128 March 2023Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina237–07–0Friendly
214 October 2025Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States382–06–0Friendly

Honours

River Plate
Sevilla
Argentina