.jpg) Palacios withBayer Leverkusen in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Exequiel Alejandro Palacios[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1998-10-05)5 October 1998 (age 26) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Famaillá,Tucumán, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Bayer Leverkusen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2015 | River Plate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2020 | River Plate | 48 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Bayer Leverkusen | 103 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Argentina U17 | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Argentina U20 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Argentina | 34 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:29, 28 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:03, 26 March 2025 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exequiel Alejandro Palacios (Spanish pronunciation:[ekseˈkjelpaˈla.sjos]; born 5 October 1998) is an Argentine professionalfootballer who plays as acentral midfielder forBundesliga clubBayer Leverkusen and theArgentina national team.
Palacios is a youth exponent fromClub Atlético River Plate. He made hisleague debut on 8 November 2015 againstNewell's Old Boys.[2]
On 9 December 2018 Palacios won2018 Copa Libertadores with River Plate. He played 11 matches includingthe finals against rivalsBoca Juniors.[3]
Palacios was part of2018 South American Team of the Year.
Palacios made his final appearance for his boyhood club in the final of theCopa Argentina on 13 December 2019, playing 79 minutes of a 3–0 victory overCentral Córdoba.[4]
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.[5]
On 14 April 2024, Bayer Leverkusen won2023–24 Bundesliga and Palacios was a member of the team.[6]
Palacios made his international debut forArgentina on 8 September 2018 in a 3–0 international friendly against theGuatemala national football team.[7]
On 12 November 2020, Palacios fractured a bone in his spine during a 1–1 draw withParaguay in aWorld Cup qualifier and was expected be out for three months. Palacios sustained the injury in an aerial duel withAngel Romero in the first half of the contest atLa Bombonera and was replaced byGiovani Lo Celso, who took the corner from whichNicolas Gonzalez headed home Argentina's equaliser.[8]
On 10 July 2021, Palacios played as a second-half substitute in Argentina's 1–0 victory overBrazil in theCopa América final.[9] During the2022 FIFA World Cup, Palacios featured in a 2–0 win overMexico in the group stage phase, a 2–1 victory overAustralia in the round of 16, and a 3–0 win overCroatia in their semi-finals.[10]
In June 2024, Palacios was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the2024 Copa América.[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate | 2015 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Argentine Primera División | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 11[b] | 1 | 4[c] | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 15 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9[b] | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 19 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 92 | 10 | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 1 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8[e] | 1 | — | 34 | 5 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 24 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9[d] | 0 | — | 36 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10[f] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| Total | 103 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 155 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 151 | 15 | 33 | 7 | 59 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 247 | 25 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 0 | |
River Plate[12]
Bayer Leverkusen[12]
Argentina
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
