Melissa Bustos
Melissa Deanna Bustos Pepe is a footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chilean club. Born in Canada, she plays for the Chile women's national team.
Club career
In her country of birth, Bustos played for two consecutive years for UBC Thunderbirds. In 2019, she suffered a serious knee injury. In 2020, she moved to Chile and joined Colo-Colo.After playing for Colo-Colo, she spent two years with [C.D. Arturo C.D. Arturo Fernández Vial (women)|Fernández Vial (women)|Fernández Vial].
In May 2022, she was selected by the Brazilian international Neymar Jr. for the friendly tournament Red Bull Neymar Jr's Five in Qatar, after he watched her football skills in an Instagram video.
In 2023, Bustos signed with Santiago Morning. In 2024, she switched to Universidad de Chile. The next year, she joined.
International career
In 2019, she trained with the Chile national team and, later, she was called up to a training microcycle.In 2023, she was called up to a training microcycle of the national team at under-23 level.
At senior level, she made her debut in a 1–0 win against Peru on 1 December 2023.
Personal life
Born in Canada, her father, Alex, is Chilean and her mother is Canadian of Italian descent. She holds three nationalities: Canadian by birth and both Chilean and Italian by descent.Her father used to organize soccer championships for academies when she was a child. As a child, she also played volleyball, basketball and did track and field.
Her older brother, Marco, is a Canada international footballer. They both organized a soccer camp, Marco & Melissa Bustos Soccer Camp, in their hometown, Winnipeg, and gave Fernández Vial shirts to the children.