Nicolás Alejandro Tagliafico was born on 31 August 1992 in Rafael Calzada, in the southern suburbs of Greater Buenos Aires, and came through the youth ranks at Banfield as a left-back. Before that he had played amateur football for his local club, Social y Deportivo Rafael Calzada. He also holds Italian citizenship through his grandparents. His career took him from Banfield to Independiente, Ajax and Olympique Lyonnais. With Argentina he won the 2022 World Cup and the Copa América in 2021 and 2024.
Youth and debut at Banfield
Tagliafico went through every youth category at Banfield, the club where Javier Zanetti also started out, and he was often compared with Zanetti for his work up and down the flank. He made his first-team debut on 11 March 2011 against Tigre, coming on in the 72nd minute of a 2-1 away win. He scored his first goal against San Lorenzo in the 2012 Clausura, a season that ended with Banfield relegated to the Primera B Nacional. In the same years he played youth football for Argentina. He won bronze at the 2007 South American U-15 Championship, silver at the 2009 South American U-17 Championship and bronze at the 2011 South American U-20 Championship, and played at the 2009 U-17 and 2011 U-20 World Cups. Argentina lost the quarter-final of the latter to Portugal on penalties, and he missed one of the kicks.
In August 2012 he joined Real Murcia, then in the Spanish second division, on loan and made 28 appearances in 2012-13. Back at Banfield, he became the regular left-back of the side that won the 2013-14 Primera B Nacional and returned to the top flight. He stayed for one more season in the first division and left the club with 71 appearances and 3 goals.
Independiente and the Copa Sudamericana
In February 2015 he signed for Independiente and made his debut in a 3-2 away win over Newell's Old Boys. Over three years he became a regular and a leader in the dressing room. In 2017, after Víctor Cuesta's departure, he took over the captaincy and lifted the 2017 Copa Sudamericana, a title that put the club back among the continent's leading sides. That year he was named in the South American Team of the Year. He left Avellaneda after 111 games and 2 goals.
Ajax: a Champions League semi-final and three league titles
Ajax announced his signing on 5 January 2018, and he made his debut on the 21st of that month in a 2-0 win over Feyenoord. Under Erik ten Hag he made the left-back position his own and stood out in 2018-19. He scored twice in a 3-0 Champions League win over AEK Athens and grabbed the equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich. Ajax reached the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, where Tottenham knocked them out on away goals. That season the club won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup double. He was named Eredivisie Player of the Month for November 2018 and picked in the Team of the Season. He added two more league titles with the Amsterdam club, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and finished with 169 official appearances and 16 goals.
Olympique Lyonnais
On 23 July 2022 he joined Olympique Lyonnais on a three-year deal. He scored his first Ligue 1 goal against Troyes in August 2022. In 2023-24 he reached the Coupe de France final with Lyon, which the club lost. In the 2024-25 Europa League he scored against Romania's FCSB and against Manchester United.
Argentina national team
He won his first senior cap on 9 June 2017 in Melbourne, coming off the bench in a 1-0 win over Brazil. He went to his first World Cup in Russia in 2018, where Argentina lost to France in the round of 16, and finished third at the 2019 Copa América after a 2-1 win over Chile. Under Lionel Scaloni he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 Finalissima against Italy (3-0). At Qatar 2022 he started the final against France, which ended 3-3 and went to penalties (4-2): Argentina were world champions. His only international goal came on 12 September 2023, in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia. In 2024 he won his second Copa América. He was named in the 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, where Argentina reached the final and lost 1-0 to Spain after extra time on 19 July 2026.
Olympique Lyonnais