Influential midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur joined us from Juventus in January 2022, signing a contract that extends until 2026.
After a remarkable 2022/23 season was abruptly halted by a serious knee injury in February 2023, Rodrigo made his eagerly anticipated return as a substitute in our 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on October 27, 2023.
However, just a month later, disaster struck again when he was sidelined for five weeks due to another injury sustained against Aston Villa. He returned to action on December 31, but the remainder of the season was inconsistent for the Uruguayan midfielder. He made 25 appearances in total, including 23 in the Premier League (13 of which were starts), with his sole goal coming in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in January 2024.
Rodrigo has now made a total of 69 appearances for us across all competitions.
Born in Nueva Helvecia, Uruguay, Rodrigo began his career at Boca Juniors, debuting in 2015 and winning two Primera División titles and a Copa Argentina during his tenure.
He transferred to Juventus in 2017, where he continued his success, winning three consecutive Serie A titles from 2018 to 2020, along with two Supercoppa Italiana titles and two Coppa Italia trophies in the 2017/18 and 2020/21 seasons.
Rodrigo was a regular feature in both Serie A and the UEFA Champions League during his time with I Bianconeri, facing us in the latter competition in the 2017/18 season.
After joining us in the second half of the 2021/22 season, Rodrigo made an immediate impact, appearing 18 times and starting 16 of our final 17 matches as we secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and a return to the UEFA Champions League. A box-to-box midfielder with a knack for making key passes, he formed a strong partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in our final 13 league matches, winning nine of them.
Rodrigo’s performances continued to improve in the 2022/23 season until an unfortunate injury interrupted his momentum. Up until February 2023, he had made 26 appearances in all competitions, starting 24 and contributing six goals, including decisive late winners in comebacks against Bournemouth and Leeds in October and November.
He started all three matches for Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but his tournament was cut short by an injury during the dramatic final group match against Ghana, where South Korea’s late winner against Portugal secured their progression to the knockout stage.
Upon returning from World Cup duty, Rodrigo came back from injury on January 19 and started our next five matches. However, after scoring against Leicester on February 11, he suffered a serious knee injury that ended his season prematurely.
On the international stage, Rodrigo has represented Uruguay since 2017, being part of the young squad that won the Under-20 South American Championship that year. He made his senior debut later in 2017 and has since participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 and 2021 Copa America tournaments, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
He netted his first senior international goal against Venezuela in World Cup qualifying just one day after completing his move to Spurs. As he heads into the 2024 Copa America, he has accumulated 58 caps for his country.
Uruguay
