Gabriel Mercado · Biography

Gabriel Iván Mercado was born on 18 March 1987 in Puerto Madryn, in Argentina’s Chubut province, and came through the youth ranks at Racing Club. He is a defender who plays at right back or centre-back. He played for Racing, Estudiantes de La Plata, River Plate, Sevilla and Qatar’s Al-Rayyan before joining Internacional of Porto Alegre in July 2021. With Argentina he won the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and with the senior team he played at the 2016 Copa América Centenario and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

From Patagonia to Racing

He left Puerto Madryn to join Racing’s academy in Avellaneda, where he was part of the so-called Sexta Especial. He made his top-flight debut on 21 February 2007, a 3-0 defeat to San Lorenzo in the Torneo Clausura. That same year he was part of the Argentina under-20 side that finished second at the South American championship in Paraguay and won the World Cup in Canada a few months later. He made 96 appearances and scored once for Racing between 2007 and 2010. He was still a Racing player when Diego Maradona gave him his senior international debut on 10 February 2010, in a 2-1 win over Jamaica in Mar del Plata.

Estudiantes and a first title

In July 2010 he signed for Estudiantes de La Plata, who had won the Copa Libertadores in 2009. In his first half-season there he won the 2010 Torneo Apertura, his first trophy as a professional. In two seasons in La Plata he made 76 appearances in all competitions and scored 10 goals, a high total for a defender. Most came from runs into the box from the flank or from set pieces.

Six trophies at River Plate

On 16 July 2012 he joined River Plate, who had won back their top-flight place that June after a season in the second-tier Primera B Nacional. Under Ramón Díaz he won the 2014 Torneo Final and the Copa Campeonato that year. Under Marcelo Gallardo came the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, the 2015 Recopa Sudamericana, the 2015 Copa Libertadores and the 2015 Suruga Bank Championship. He was named in the 2015 South American Team of the Year. He left River in 2016 after 144 appearances and 11 goals.

Sevilla

In August 2016 he signed for Sevilla, then managed by Jorge Sampaoli. His first goal for the Andalusian club came in a home Seville derby win over Real Betis at the Sánchez-Pizjuán. With Sevilla he played in the Champions League, where the club reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and lost to Bayern Munich. Over three seasons he made 117 competitive appearances and scored 6 goals. He left in 2019, when his contract ran out.

Argentina national team

He started for Argentina at the 2016 Copa América Centenario in the United States and played the full 120 minutes of the final against Chile, which Argentina lost 4-2 on penalties. That year he scored in two World Cup qualifiers: on 24 March in a 2-1 win over Chile, and on 29 March in a 2-0 win over Bolivia. On 9 June 2017 he scored the only goal of a 1-0 friendly win over Brazil in the Superclásico de las Américas. He played three matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and scored against France in Kazan on 30 June, in a round-of-16 match Argentina lost 4-3. He scored four goals for the senior team.

Qatar and Porto Alegre

On 11 June 2019, Al-Rayyan of Qatar announced that he had joined them on a free transfer on a two-year deal. On 5 July 2021 he signed for Internacional of Porto Alegre, where he wears the number 25 and became one of the team’s centre-backs. Internacional were fighting relegation in the 2025 Brasileirão. In the 38th round, on 7 December at the Beira-Rio, Mercado headed in the opening goal from a Vitão cross. Internacional beat Bragantino 3-1 and stayed in Serie A in 2025.