Manuela Vanegas Cataño (; born 9 November 2000) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a defender, chiefly at left back, for Women's Super League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Colombia national team.

Vanegas played as a goalkeeper in her early years at Formas Íntimas, making her Copa Libertadores Femenina debut at 13, before settling in defence. After spells with Envigado, Atlético Huila and Independiente Medellín, she moved to Spain in 2020 with Espanyol and spent four seasons at Real Sociedad before joining Brighton in 2025.

A Colombia international since 2018, Vanegas won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games, finished as a runner-up at the 2022 Copa América Femenina and scored the stoppage-time winner against Germany at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. A cruciate ligament injury in January 2025 kept her out for most of a year, but she returned to win the inaugural CONMEBOL Women's Nations League in 2026.

Early life Vanegas was born on 9 November 2000 and grew up in Copacabana, a town in the department of Antioquia, near Medellín. She grew up around the game — her father, Héctor, and her brother Franky both played — and she started at the age of five, later becoming the first member of her family to play professionally. She has described her mother, who grew up in Amalfi some 80 km to the north-east and worked in clothing manufacturing, as her biggest inspiration; her father worked as a labourer, and money was tight for a family with three children. The eldest of her two older brothers was killed in 2005, aged 16, when Vanegas was four; she has said she has few memories of him and carries a tattoo in his memory.

She grew up admiring Cristiano Ronaldo and Marta, and played against the latter at the 2018 Copa América Femenina at the age of 18.

Club career Formas Íntimas Vanegas began playing club football with Formas Íntimas of Medellín, alternating between goalkeeper and outfield positions. She played in the Copa Libertadores Femenina with the club in 2013 and 2014, reaching the final and the semi-finals respectively, and made her debut in the competition at the age of 13, going in goal after Sandra Sepúlveda was sent off.

Envigado, Atlético Huila and Independiente Medellín Vanegas joined Envigado in 2017, and in a league match in May 2018 again deputised in goal, saving a penalty after replacing the club's injured goalkeeper. She moved to Atlético Huila later in 2018 and to Independiente Medellín in 2019, helping the latter reach the league final.

Espanyol Vanegas moved to Spain in 2020 with Espanyol, where she played 33 league matches and scored three goals in the 2020–21 season, establishing herself as a mainstay of the defence.

Real Sociedad On 9 July 2021, Vanegas joined Real Sociedad as the club's second signing of the summer. She became a regular in the Basque side and in May 2023 signed a contract extension running to 2025. Across four seasons she made 96 appearances and scored ten goals in all competitions.

Her final season was cut short on 5 January 2025, when she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in a match against Barcelona. She had scored three goals in 12 appearances before the injury, which required surgery and ended her campaign.

Brighton & Hove Albion In July 2025, Vanegas signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, joining fellow Colombia international Jorelyn Carabalí at the club. Head coach Dario Vidošić described her as "a solid defender who is both reliable at defending and threatening moving forward". Speaking in February 2026, after a first half-season back from her knee injury, Vanegas said she was "happy because last year I was injured, so it feels good playing with the team regularly". On 5 October 2026, Vanegas signed a new long term contract with Brighton & Hove Albion.

International career Vanegas was called up to the Colombia squad for the 2018 Copa América Femenina, where she made her senior debut. Earlier that year she had scored against Venezuela at the Central American and Caribbean Games, and in 2019 she was part of the Colombia side that won gold in the women's tournament at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.

Named in the squad for the 2022 Copa América Femenina on 3 July 2022, Vanegas played in all six of Colombia's matches and scored twice as the host nation reached the final.

Vanegas was called up for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on 4 July 2023. On 30 July, she headed in a 97th-minute winner against Germany in Sydney, giving Colombia a 2–1 group-stage victory over the two-time world champions. Colombia went on to reach the quarter-finals.

She played at the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, scoring against Panama in the group stage, and was named on 5 July 2024 in the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Her cruciate ligament injury ruled her out of the 2025 Copa América Femenina and kept her out of the national team for close to a year, her last appearance before it having come against Argentina on 30 November 2024. She was recalled for Colombia's CONMEBOL Women's Nations League fixture away to Bolivia on 28 November 2025. On 14 April 2026 she scored in a 2–0 win over Chile in the same competition, and on 10 June she started as Colombia beat Paraguay 4–3 in Asunción to win the inaugural edition, a result that also secured qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsEspanyol2020–21Primera División33310———343Real Sociedad2021–2226220———2822022–23Liga F26310—10203032023–2420152———2532024–2511310———123Total83992—10209511Brighton & Hove Albion2025–26Women's Super League1415100——1922026–27500020——70Total1915120——262Career total1351315320102015516

International goals Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first. No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 21 July 2018 Estadio Moderno Julio Torres, Barranquilla, Colombia 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games 8 July 2022 Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia 2022 Copa América Femenina 20 July 2022 Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia 12 October 2022 Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia Friendly 30 July 2023 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 21 February 2024 Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, United States 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup 14 April 2026 Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia 2025–26 CONMEBOL Women's Nations League

Honours Colombia CONMEBOL Women's Nations League: 2025–26 Pan American Games gold medal: 2019 Copa América Femenina runner-up: 2022

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