| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Imanol Javier Machuca[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-01-15)15 January 2000 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Roldán, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Winger[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| Youth career | |||
| San Lorenzo (R) | |||
| El Porvenir del Norte | |||
| Sportivo Matienzo | |||
| Talleres | |||
| 2018–2020 | Unión Santa Fe | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | Unión Santa Fe | 77 | (9) |
| 2023– | Fortaleza | 47 | (5) |
| 2025 | →Vélez Sarsfield (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025 | Malaysia | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:00, 6 December 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025 | |||
Imanol Javier Machuca (born 15 January 2000) is an Argentine professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forArgentine Primera División clubVélez Sarsfield. He representedMalaysia at international level; however, the documents proving his Malaysian ancestry were later found to have been forged.[3]
Machuca started his career inRoldán with San Lorenzo.[4] Spells soon followed with El Porvenir del Norte and Sportivo Matienzo, which preceded him joining the system ofTalleres.[4]
In 2018, after a trial withVélez Sarsfield, Machuca completed a move toUnión Santa Fe.[5] After two years in the reserves, he was promoted into the first-team squad in October 2020 under managerJuan Manuel Azconzábal; penning pro terms on 28 October.[6][7][8] Machuca made his senior debut on 29 October during aCopa Sudamericana second stage first leg home defeat toEmelec, as he replacedJuan Manuel García with two minutes left.[9]
On 29 July 2023,Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Fortaleza announced the signing of Machuca on a four-year deal, having acquired 50% of the player's economic rights[10] for a reported fee of $2.5 million.[11] Machuca arrived at Leão do Pici in 2023, when he played just 22 games, scoring two goals. In the 2024 season, the striker played 43 games, scoring four goals and providing five assists.[12]
On 13 January 2025, Machuca joinedArgentine Primera División sideVélez Sarsfield on loan until the end of the year, with an option to buy.[13] Vélez suspended Machuca following his sanction by FIFA in September of the same year.[14] After the ban was temporarily lifted in January 2026, Machuca returned to Vélez Sarsfield.[15]
Born inArgentina, Machuca claimed to be ofMalaysian descent.[16] He was called up to theMalaysia national team for a set of friendlies in June 2025.[17] Machuca made his international debut on 10 June 2025 in the2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification match againstVietnam at theBukit Jalil National Stadium, coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow debutantRodrigo Holgado.[18]
He was among seven Malaysian national team players sanctioned by FIFA on 26 September 2025 when the disciplinary committee found thatFootball Association of Malaysia used doctored documentation to be able to field foreign-born players.[19][20][21][22] As a result, Machuca was suspended from all football-related activities for one year.[23] However, this ban was temporarily lifted by theCourt of Arbitration for Sport on 26 January 2026 pending the final ruling.[24]
Born in Argentina, Machuca claimed to be of Malaysian descent through his grandmother. However,FIFA released a statement that his grandmother was not born in nor has Malaysian ancestry, as the documentation submitted byFootball Association of Malaysia proven to be doctored.[25]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Continental | State league[b] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Unión Santa Fe | 2019–20 | Primera División | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21[nb 1] | Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Primera División | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | |||||
| 2022 | Primera División | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 0 | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2023 | Primera División | 22 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 10 | ||
| Fortaleza | 2023 | Série A | 16 | 2 | — | — | 8[c] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||
| 2024 | Série A | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | 16 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Total | 31 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 65 | 4 | ||
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2025 | Primera División | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Career total | 116 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 165 | 14 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Fortaleza
Velez Sarsfield