Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo, who collapsed on the pitch after suffering an irregular heartbeat last week, has died, his Club Nacional team has announced.
The 27-year-old had been undergoing medical treatment since he collapsed during the second leg of a Copa Libertadores round of 16 tie against Sāo Paulo at Brazil’s Morumbi stadium on 22 August.
“It is with the deepest sorrow and shock in our hearts that the Club Nacional announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo,” Nacional wrote on X. “We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss.”
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Alejandro Domínguez, the president of South American football’s governing body, also extended his condolences to Izquierdo’s family and friends. “South American football is in mourning,” he added.
Sāo Paulo said they were deeply saddened by the news, calling it a “sad day for football”.
Izquierdo was taken to Hospital Albert Einstein after he collapsed last Thursday. The hospital said in a statement late on Tuesday that Izquierdo had “cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia.”
Doctors at the hospital had said in a statement on Monday that Izquierdo was experiencing increased intracranial pressure. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday and under neurological critical care since Monday.
Uruguay’s first- and second-division football leagues were postponed on the weekend due to concerns over Izquierdo’s health. Sāo Paulo players wore a shirt in support of the Uruguayan footballer before the team’s 2-1 Brazilian league win against Vitória on Sunday.
Izquierdo had replaced Sebastián Coates for the Uruguayan club at half-time of the match against Sāo Paulo but the defender fell to the ground unconscious in the 84th minute without coming into contact with another player.
Players from both sides immediately called for medical assistance. Still unconscious, Izquierdo was taken off the pitch in an ambulance to the applause of the fans, before being treated at the intensive care unit of Hospital Albert Einstein.
Izquierdo’s professional career began in 2018 at local club Cerro. He joined Peñarol the following year, but didn’t get much playing time. The defender then moved to Montevideo Wanderers.
Izquierdo was signed by Nacional in 2022, played one match and then was transferred to the local Liverpool club. The defender was one of Liverpool’s best players in the campaign that led the team to a Uruguayan league title in 2023, the club’s first in more than a century.
Izquierdo returned to Nacional this year and was vying for a position in the starting lineup with veteran Coates, who played for Uruguay’s national team. He played 23 matches this year and scored one goal.
