Nicolás Ibáñez (footballer, born 1994)
|
Ibáñez with Tigres UANL in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolás Alejandro Ibáñez | ||
| Date of birth | 23 August 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Venado Tuerto, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cruz Azul | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2015 | Lanús | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Comunicaciones | 54 | (15) |
| 2016–2017 | → Gimnasia y Esgrima (loan) | 30 | (7) |
| 2017 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | 10 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Atlético San Luis | 53 | (30) |
| 2019–2021 | Atlético Madrid | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | → Atlético San Luis (loan) | 55 | (27) |
| 2021–2023 | Pachuca | 62 | (35) |
| 2023–2026 | Tigres UANL | 111 | (26) |
| 2026– | Cruz Azul | 7 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:56, 21 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Nicolás Alejandro Ibáñez (born 23 August 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club Cruz Azul.[3]
Career
Comunicaciones
Ibáñez began his career in the youth divisions of Lanús before transitioning to professional football with Comunicaciones, a club competing in the Primera B Metropolitana, in 2015. He scored his first senior goal in his fifth appearance, against Deportivo Merlo on March 14. Over the course of his first two seasons, he registered fifteen goals in fifty-four matches for the club.[3][4]
Gimnasia y Esgrima
On August 1, 2016, Ibáñez joined Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata on loan. Following a successful campaign in which he scored seven goals in thirty appearances, Gimnasia secured his permanent transfer. In his first match after the acquisition, he scored twice in a 4–4 away draw against Defensa y Justicia.[5]
Atlético San Luis
In January 2018, Ibáñez signed with Atlético San Luis of Mexico’s Ascenso MX.[6] He made his debut on January 19 against Tampico Madero and scored his first goal for the club on February 20 in a 2–0 win over Zacatepec.[7] He reached his 100th league appearance during a fixture against Celaya.
After scoring seven goals in thirteen matches during his initial campaign, Ibáñez delivered an exceptional 2018–19 regular season, netting twenty-one goals. He added two more in six playoff matches, helping Atlético secure promotion to Liga MX by defeating Dorados de Sinaloa and clinching a second consecutive title. He concluded the season as the division’s top scorer.
On June 5, 2019, Atlético de Madrid, a Spanish Primera División club and shareholder of Atlético San Luis, announced the signing of Ibáñez.[8] Shortly thereafter, on July 1, he was loaned back to the Mexican side.[9]
During the 2019–20 season, Ibáñez scored fourteen goals. On November 6, 2020, he marked his 200th professional appearance in a match against Puebla.
Pachuca
Ibáñez joined Pachuca for the Apertura 2021. He finished the Apertura 2022 tournament as the league's top scorer with eleven goals, and secured his first league championship.[10]
Tigres UANL
On 18 January 2023, Ibáñez joined Tigres UANL.[11]
Cruz Azul
On 9 February 2026, Cruz Azul reached an agreement to sign Ibáñez.[12]
Career statistics
- As of matched played 20 March 2026[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Comunicaciones | 2015 | Primera B Metropolitana | 35 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 10 | ||
| 2016 | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | 19 | 6 | |||||
| 2016–17 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 54 | 15 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 56 | 16 | ||||
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (loan) | 2016–17 | Primera División | 30 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 8 | |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | 2017–18 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 10 | |||
| Atlético San Luis | 2017–18 | Ascenso MX | 13 | 7 | — | — | — | 13 | 7 | |||
| 2018–19 | 40 | 23 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 23 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 30 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 30 | ||||
| Atlético Madrid | 2019–20 | La Liga | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Atlético San Luis (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga MX | 26 | 14 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 14 | ||
| 2020–21 | 29 | 13 | — | — | — | 29 | 13 | |||||
| Total | 55 | 27 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 58 | 27 | ||||
| Pachuca | 2021–22 | Liga MX | 38 | 17 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 17 | ||
| 2022–23 | 24 | 18 | — | — | — | 24 | 18 | |||||
| Total | 62 | 35 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 62 | 35 | ||||
| Tigres UANL | 2022–23 | Liga MX | 18 | 3 | — | 6 | 1 | 1[c] | 1 | 25 | 5 | |
| 2023–24 | 38 | 12 | — | 4 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 46 | 12 | |||
| 2024–25 | 38 | 7 | — | 8 | 3 | 5[e] | 0 | 51 | 10 | |||
| 2025–26 | 17 | 4 | — | — | 2[f] | 0 | 19 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 111 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 141 | 31 | ||
| Cruz Azul | 2025–26 | Liga MX | 7 | 2 | — | 3 | 2 | — | 10 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 382 | 144 | 13 | 2 | 23 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 430 | 153 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa Argentina, Copa MX
- ^ Includes Copa Sudamericana, CONCACAF Champions Cup
- ^ Appearance in Campeón de Campeones
- ^ Three appearances in Leagues Cup, one appearance in Campeones Cup
- ^ One appearance in Supercopa de la Liga MX, four appearances in Leagues Cup
- ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup
Honours
Atlético San Luis
Pachuca
Tigres UANL
Individual
- Ascenso MX Top Scorer: Apertura 2018, Clausura 2019
- Liga MX All-Star: 2021
- Liga MX Best XI: Clausura 2022
- Liga MX Golden Boot: Apertura 2022
- The Best of America Best Liga MX Player: 2022
References
- ^ "Nicolás Ibañez". Club Tigres (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Nicolás Ibáñez". World Football. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ a b c "Nicolás Ibáñez profile". Soccerway. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Nicolás Ibáñez profile". BDFA. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Firmó Nicolás Ibañez". Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Anuncia el Atlético de San Luis el fichaje del argentino Nicolás Ibañez". Marca. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "En el Debut de Alfonso Sosa, Ganó Atlético de San Luis". Ascenso MX. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Atlético de Madrid agree deal with Atlético de San Luis over the transfer of Nicolás Ibáñez". Club Atlético de Madrid. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Nicolás Ibáñez, Axel Werner to join Atlético de San Luis on loan". Club Atlético de Madrid. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Apertura 2022: Nicolás Ibáñez conquista la corona de goleo". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). 3 October 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ @TigresOficial (18 January 2023). "¡Bienvenido a La U de Nuevo León, Nico Ibáñez!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Flores, Omar (10 February 2026). "Nicolás Ibáñez, registrado como nuevo jugador de Cruz Azul". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
External links
- Nicolás Ibáñez at Soccerway
- Ascenso MX profile