_(cropped).jpg) Stuani playing forUruguay at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-10-12)12 October 1986 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Tala, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Girona | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Danubio | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Danubio | 36 | (23) |
| 2006–2007 | →Bella Vista (loan) | 14 | (12) |
| 2008–2012 | Reggina | 18 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | →Albacete (loan) | 39 | (22) |
| 2010–2011 | →Levante (loan) | 30 | (8) |
| 2011–2012 | →Racing Santander (loan) | 32 | (9) |
| 2012–2015 | Espanyol | 103 | (25) |
| 2015–2017 | Middlesbrough | 59 | (11) |
| 2017– | Girona | 248 | (125) |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Uruguay U17 | 12 | (3) |
| 2005 | Uruguay U20 | 15 | (6) |
| 2012–2019 | Uruguay | 50 | (8) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:00, 15 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈkɾistjanesˈtwani]; born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professionalfootballer who plays as astriker for andcaptainsLa Liga clubGirona.
He started out atDanubio, being bought byReggina in 2008. He went on to spend the vast majority of his professional career in Spain, in representation of several clubs, includingEspanyol; he signed withMiddlesbrough from England in 2015 and, two years later, joined Girona.
Stuani made his debut for Uruguay in 2012 and appeared for the nation at twoWorld Cups and threeCopa América tournaments. He also holds anItalian passport.[2]
Born inTala,Canelones, Stuani started his professional career withDanubio. In 2005, he went on loan toBella Vista in theUruguayan Segunda División, performing well enough to be recalled.
In January 2008, after scoring 19 goals in the2007 Apertura with Danubio, Stuani was signed byReggina in Italy, penning a four-year contract with theSerie A club.[3] He made his official debut on the 12th, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 away draw againstEmpoli.[4]
When Stuani joined, the club was second from bottom and had the fewest goals scored in the league, followingRolando Bianchi's departure forManchester City in the previous summer – he went scoreless in 12 games, but theReggio Calabria team managed toretain their division status. In2008–09, he scored his only league goal from apenalty kick in the last round, a 1–1 home draw againstSiena,[5] having only appeared in four more matches during the entire season, which ended in top-flight relegation.
On 31 July 2009, Stuani joinedAlbacete in theSegunda División, on loan. He finished the season with 22 goals in 39 games, including hat-tricks in victories overCastellón[6] andCórdoba,[7] putting him in second in the scoring charts behindElche'sJorge Molina, but his teamonly finished two points above the relegation zone.[8]
For2010–11, Stuani remained in the country and on loan, but moved toLa Liga withLevante.[9] He was used mostly as abackup toFelipe Caicedo,[10] but still contributed eight goals – second-best in the squad – as theValencians easily retained their status, netting twice in a 3–1 home defeat ofMálaga.[11]
Inthe next season, Stuani was loaned to another side in theSpanish top flight,Racing de Santander.[12] In December 2011, he scored a brace in each leg of theCopa del Rey tie againstRayo Vallecano, including a latepenalty in the second game which secured a win on theaway goals rule following a6–6 aggregate draw.[13]
In summer 2012, Stuani was linked with a move toDeportivo de La Coruña and even passed his medical[14] but, on 28 August, he signed a four-year contract withEspanyol[15] even though that club and Reggina had initially agreed on aseason-long loan.[2]
Stuani netted 12 times in hislast year at theEstadi Cornellà-El Prat, only trailingSergio García's 14 in his team.[16]
On 15 July 2015,Middlesbrough reached an agreement for the transfer of Stuani,[17] with the deal being completed after receiving international clearance on 7 August, for a rumoured€3 million fee.[18] His first appearance in theFootball League Championship occurred on 9 August, as he replacedKike in the 77th minute of an eventual 0–0 away draw againstPreston North End.[19] Three days later he made his first start, in theopening round of theLeague Cup, scoring in each half of a 3–1 win overOldham Athletic atBoundary Park;[20] he scored a brace again in the second round on the 25th, as his team came from behind to win atBurton Albion.[21]
Stuani scored his first league goal on 29 August 2015, concluding a 3–1 victory atSheffield Wednesday.[22] Seventeen days later, he netted twice in a victory of the same margin againstBrentford at theRiverside Stadium.[23]
On 28 December 2015, Stuani finishedStewart Downing's cross in the 44th second for the only goal of the home game against Wednesday, putting Middlesbrough on top of the table.[24] He did not find the net again until the final game ofthe season on the following 7 May, opening a 1–1 home draw withBrighton & Hove Albion which won promotion to thePremier League at the opponents' expense; the goal's worth was valued at £170 million.[25]
On 21 August 2016, Stuani scored his first goals in the top division in his first game in the competition, grabbing a brace againstSunderland in a 2–1 win at theStadium of Light.[26]
On 21 July 2017, Stuani joinedGirona –newly promoted to the Spanish top flight – for an undisclosed fee.[27] He made his debut for the club on 19 August, starting and scoring twice in a 2–2 home draw againstAtlético Madrid.[28] He finished hisfirst year in fifth place of the scoring charts at 21 goals.[29]
On 10 March 2019, Stuani became the club's all-time scorer in the top tier with 38 successful strikes after a 2–3 loss toValencia at theEstadi Montilivi, surpassing former holderJandro;[30] despite totalling 19 duringthe season to repeat the same position in the scoring department, the team succumbed to relegation on the last matchday.[31][32]
Subsequently, a number of clubs approached Stuani for a summer move, most notably championsBarcelona.[33][34] However, he eventually put pen to a contract extension with until 2023.[35] He missed the first two league games due to a groin injury,[36] but scored in his first appearance on 1 September 2019 to help the hosts defeat Málaga 1–0;[37] he added ahat-trick the following weekend, at home to Rayo Vallecano (3–1).[38]
Stuani made his senior debut forUruguay on 14 November 2012, in afriendly withPoland (3–1 away win).[39] On 10 September of the following year, he scored his first international goal, helping to a 2–0 home victory againstColombia for the2014 FIFA World Cupqualifiers.[40] On 13 November 2013, he netted theCharrúas' second in their 5–0 win inJordan forthe playoffs first leg, finishingNicolás Lodeiro's cross at close range.[41]
Stuani was selected by managerÓscar Tabárez for the finals in Brazil.[42] He scored in both of Uruguay's warm-up matches for the tournament, the only goal of the game againstNorthern Ireland after coming on at half-time forDiego Forlán,[43] and the second in a 2–0 win overSlovenia.[44] He made histournament debut on 14 June, starting in a 3–1 loss toCosta Rica inFortaleza,[45] and added a further three bench appearances in around-of-16 exit.
Stuani was named in Uruguay's squad the following year, as they attempted to defend their continental crown at the2015 Copa América. He made two substitute appearances inGroup B, in a quarter-final finish.
Stuani was included in the final 23-man squad for the2018 World Cup in Russia.[46] His first match in the competition took place on 30 June, when he replacedEdinson Cavani (who had scored twice) for the final 16 minutes of the 2–1 round-of-16 victory overPortugal.[47] He started in the next match due to injury to the same teammate, and played 59 minutes in the 2–0 defeat againstFrance.[48]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Danubio | 2004 | Uruguayan Primera División | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2005 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| 2005–06 | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | ||||||
| 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2007–08 | 14 | 19 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 19 | ||||||
| Total | 36 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 23 | ||
| Bella Vista (loan) | 2006–07 | Uruguayan Primera División | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 12 | ||||
| Reggina | 2007–08 | Serie A | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | ||
| Albacete (loan) | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 39 | 22 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 22 | |||
| Levante (loan) | 2010–11 | La Liga | 30 | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| Racing Santander (loan) | 2011–12 | La Liga | 32 | 9 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | 36 | 13 | |||
| Espanyol | 2012–13 | La Liga | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 7 | |||
| 2013–14 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 7 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 37 | 12 | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | 45 | 15 | |||||
| Total | 103 | 25 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 29 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2015–16 | Championship | 36 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | — | — | 40 | 11 | ||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 23 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 5 | |||
| Total | 59 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 16 | ||
| Girona | 2017–18 | La Liga | 33 | 21 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 21 | |||
| 2018–19 | 32 | 19 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 34 | 20 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Segunda División | 36 | 29 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4[c] | 2 | 40 | 31 | |||
| 2020–21 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 29 | 10 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 37 | 22 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4[c] | 2 | 42 | 24 | ||||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 32 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 34 | 10 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 31 | 9 | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | 36 | 14 | |||||
| 2024–25 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | — | 31 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 248 | 125 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 279 | 136 | ||
| Career total | 579 | 236 | 39 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 640 | 262 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 3 | |
| Total | 50 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 September 2013 | Estadio Centenario,Montevideo, Uruguay |  Colombia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 13 November 2013 | Amman International Stadium,Amman, Jordan |  Jordan | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 31 May 2014 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 5 June 2014 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Slovenia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 5 September 2015 | Rommel Fernández,Panama City, Panama |  Panama | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 22 March 2019 | Guangxi Sports Center,Nanning, China |  Uzbekistan | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2019 China Cup |
| 7 | 3–0 | |||||
| 8 | 25 March 2019 | Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China |  Thailand | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2019 China Cup |
Danubio
Individual
Uruguay squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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