Juan Sebastián Verón · Biography

In July 2001, Manchester United paid Lazio £28.1 million for Juan Sebastián Verón (La Plata, 9 March 1975), an Argentine midfielder who had arrived in Italy five years earlier from Boca Juniors. The son of Juan Ramón Verón, “La Bruja”, a forward for Estudiantes, he inherited the nickname in its diminutive form: “La Brujita”. After a decade in Italy and England he returned to Estudiantes de La Plata, won the 2009 Copa Libertadores with the club and later served as its sporting director and president.

Early years and debut at Estudiantes

He came through the youth ranks at Estudiantes, his father’s club. He made his first-team debut in 1993, in the Copa Centenario, and played his first official matches in 1994, with the side in the Primera B Nacional, Argentina’s second tier. In 1994-95 he was part of the squad that won that title and took the club back to the Primera División. His first spell brought 66 appearances and 8 goals. In 1996 he joined Boca Juniors, where he played 17 matches and scored 4 goals before crossing the Atlantic that same year.

Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio

Sampdoria signed him in 1996, and in Genoa he made 68 appearances and scored 7 goals over two seasons. In 1998 Parma paid £15 million for him. His only campaign there, 1998-99, ended with two trophies: the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia. In 1999 he moved to Lazio for £18.1 million. In Rome he won the 1999 UEFA Super Cup and, in 1999-2000, the double of Serie A and Coppa Italia, adding the Supercoppa Italiana in 2000. He played 79 matches and scored 14 goals for the club.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter

At Old Trafford, between 2001 and 2003, he made 82 appearances and scored 11 goals, and in 2002-03 he won the Premier League. In 2003 Chelsea bought him for around £15 million; in London he played only 14 matches and scored once. In 2004 he joined Inter Milan on loan and found regular football again: 74 appearances and 4 goals up to 2006. With the Nerazzurri he won the Coppa Italia in 2004-05 and 2005-06, the 2005 Supercoppa Italiana and the 2005-06 Serie A title, awarded after the Calciopoli scandal.

Return to La Plata

He went back to Estudiantes in 2006, and in his first tournament the team won the Apertura in a play-off against Boca Juniors. He was named Argentine Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009, and the Uruguayan newspaper El País chose him as South American Footballer of the Year in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 he lost the Copa Sudamericana final to Internacional of Porto Alegre. A year later came the 2009 Copa Libertadores: after a goalless first leg, Estudiantes beat Cruzeiro 2-1 in Belo Horizonte, and CONMEBOL named him player of the final and of the tournament. That December the team lost the Club World Cup final to Barcelona in extra time. In 2010 he added the Apertura. Between 2006 and 2012 he played 189 matches and scored 25 goals.

Argentina national team

He made his Argentina debut on 20 June 1996, in a friendly against Poland in Tucumán. He played at three World Cups: at France 1998 the team went out in the quarter-finals, at Korea/Japan 2002 it fell in the group stage, and at South Africa 2010 it again bowed out in the quarter-finals. He was also a runner-up at the 2007 Copa América. He left the national team in 2010 with nine goals to his name.

Retirements and leadership at Estudiantes

He announced his retirement in October 2011, postponed it and played his last match for Estudiantes on 24 June 2012. That year he played in La Plata’s amateur league for Asociación Coronel Brandsen, winning the Clausura with them. On 10 December 2012 he became sporting director of Estudiantes; he returned to playing in 2013 and retired again after a match against Tigre on 18 May 2014. On 4 October 2014 he was elected club president with 75% of the vote, and he was re-elected in 2017. That year he played his final minutes: his definitive retirement came on 25 May 2017. From 2021 to 2024 he was vice-president under Martín Gorostegui, and in April 2024 he became president again. With him on the board, Estudiantes won the 2023 Copa Argentina and the 2024 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Trofeo de Campeones. On 27 November 2025 the AFA disciplinary tribunal suspended him for six months over the guard of honour the team formed with their backs turned to Rosario Central. On 13 December 2025 Estudiantes beat Racing on penalties in Santiago del Estero to win the 2025 Torneo Clausura.