Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (born 1 June 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.
Club career River Plate On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.
Flamengo On 24 December 2023, it was announced that de la Cruz would join Brazilian club Flamengo at the start of the 2024 season, signing a four-year contract.
International career De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team. He was captain of Uruguay under-20 team which won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-man preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador. He was later included in the final squad and made his senior debut on 8 October 2020 in Uruguay's 2–1 win against Chile. He started the match and played 55 minutes before getting replaced by Nahitan Nández.
On 31 May 2026, de la Cruz was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Personal life De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez. Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLiverpool2015–16Uruguayan Primera División171———1712016-17Uruguayan Primera División187—10—197Total358—10—368River Plate2017–18Argentine Primera División1404020002002018–19Argentine Primera División1713020833042019–20Argentine Primera División17450123113582021Argentine Primera División2251070003052022Argentine Primera División3243072—4262023Argentine Primera División286207110387Total1372319049910421436Flamengo2024Série A15260901104122025Série A19000511003412026Série A120104041211Total46270181251964Career total21833260681035534648
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsUruguay202040202180202272202363202470202510202640Total375
Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de la Cruz goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Nicolás de la CruzNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 11 June 2022 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 3–0 5–0 Friendly2 27 September 2022 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia 1–0 2–0 Friendly3 8 September 2023 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 1–0 3–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification4 3–15 17 October 2023 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 2–0 2–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Liverpool Montevideo Segunda División: 2014–15
River Plate Copa Argentina: 2017, 2019 Supercopa Argentina: 2017, 2019 Copa Libertadores: 2018 Recopa Sudamericana: 2019 Argentine Primera División: 2021, 2023 Trofeo de Campeones: 2021, 2023
Flamengo FIFA Challenger Cup: 2025 FIFA Derby of the Americas: 2025 Copa Libertadores: 2025 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2025 Copa do Brasil: 2024 Supercopa do Brasil: 2025 Campeonato Carioca: 2024, 2025, 2026
Uruguay U20 South American U-20 Championship: 2017
Uruguay Copa América third place: 2024
Individual South American Team of the Year: 2023 Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024
References
External links
Profile at the Uruguayan Football Association website