Quick Facts
Biography
Roberto Maximiliano Pereyra ([roˈβeɾto peˈɾei̯.ɾa]; born 7 January 1991) is an Argentine footballer who plays for English club Watford and the Argentina national team. A right-footed player, his preferred position is as a midfielder or as a forward. Due to his versatility, he is capable of playing a variety of positions such as left or right wing, central midfield, attacking midfield or second striker.
After beginning his career in Argentina with River Plate, he joined Italian club Udinese in 2011, where his performances earned him a loan to defending league champions Juventus in 2014; he was signed permanently by The Old Lady in 2015 and won two consecutive Serie A titles during his time with the club. During his time in Italy, he developed into a well-rounded, adaptable, and tactically versatile player due to his dynamism, energy, and technique, as well as his offensive and defensive work-rate and attributes. In 2016, he joined English Premier League club Watford.
At international level, Pereyra represented the Argentina national football team at the 2015 Copa América, winning a runners-up medal in the tournament.
Club career
River Plate
Born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, Pereyra began his career within the youth academy of River Plate; due to his origins, he was given the nickname "El Tucumano". His professional career began in 2009 when he made his River Plate debut in the Argentine Primera Division against Huracan at the age of 18. After featuring on 43 occasions for River, Pereyra transferred across the Atlantic Ocean, swapping continents, as he joined Udinese Calcio ahead of the 2011–12 Serie A season.
Udinese Calcio
Officially signing for Udinese on 30 August 2011, Pereyra signed a five-year contract with the Friuli outfit, and went on to make 15 appearances in all competitions during his debut season in Italy. His performances for Udinese during a three–year spell saw him contribute eight goals and seven assists in 84 league appearances, while he also represented the club in 6 Coppa Italia matches, 2 UEFA Champions League matches, and 12 UEFA Europa League games.
Juventus
On 25 July 2014, Pereyra officially signed for, at the time, three-time defending Serie A champions Juventus on a season-long loan deal from Udinese worth €1.5 million, with the option to sign the player outright at the conclusion of the 2014–15 Serie A campaign for an additional €14 million. On the same day, Pereyra appeared for his club in their first friendly match of the season against Lucento. On 23 August 2014, he featured for Juventus in the annual Trofeo TIM. Pereyra capitalised on Francesco Magnanelli’s failed clearance to sidefoot home from just outside the six-yard box.
On 6 June 2015, Pereyra appeared as a substitute for Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final as La Vecchia Signora was defeated 3–1 by FC Barcelona at Berlin's Olympiastadion. With 52 appearances, he made the most appearances for Juventus that season across all competitions, along with teammates Claudio Marchisio and Leonardo Bonucci.
On 23 June 2015, Juventus bought out Pereyra's Udinese loan for €14 million, keeping him at Juventus until 2019.
Watford
On 19 August 2016, Pereyra moved to Watford on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee. According to an official club statement released by Juventus, the transfer is worth €13 million, with a possible €2 million in bonuses, which is to be paid over a four-year period. He was assigned the number 37 shirt for the 2016–17 season. On his Watford debut, Pereyra scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League, on 27 August. On 5 February 2018, he came off the bench to score the fourth goal in a 4–1 thrashing of Chelsea.
International career
Pereyra was selected to represent the Argentine under-20 football team at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He played all three group games at the tournament, helping Argentina defeat Mexico and North Korea and draw with England. He missed Argentina's 2–1 Round of 16 victory over Egypt through suspension, but returned to the starting line-up in the quarter-final clash against Portugal, which Argentina lost on penalty kicks after neither team could score during 120 minutes.
He made his senior debut for Argentina on Saturday 11 October 2014 in a 2–0 friendly match loss against Brazil played in Beijing, China after being called up by Gerardo Martino.
Pereyra was a member of the Argentine national team that took part at the 2015 Copa América, winning a runners-up medal.
On 11 October 2018, Pereyra scored his first senior international goal for Argentina in a 4–0 friendly win over Iraq in Saudi Arabia.
On 21 May 2019, he was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 23-man Argentina squad for the 2019 Copa América.
Style of play
Pereyra is a quick, dynamic, and hardworking player, who possesses notable stamina, pace, crossing ability, and vision, as well as good technique and dribbling skills. A creative, well-rounded and tactically versatile right-footed midfielder, who is capable of using either foot, Pereyra is able to play in several midfield and offensive positions, due to his adaptability, and energy, in addition to his offensive and defensive work-rate and attributes. He is usually deployed as an offensive midfielder in the centre, or as wide midfielder, on either flank, although his preferred position is on the left wing; he has even played as a second striker on occasion, or in a deeper role as a central midfielder. Due to his attributes, playing position and nationality, he was compared to the former Italo-Argentine Juventus winger Mauro Camoranesi during his time in Italy.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 September 2019
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Argentina | League | Copa Argentina | — | Copa Libertadores | Other | Total | ||||||||
| River Plate | 2008–09 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||||
| 2010–11 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 43 | 0 | |||||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | — | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
| Udinese | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | |||
| 2013–14 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |||
| Total | 84 | 8 | 6 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 8 | |||
| Juventus (loan) | 2014–15 | Serie A | 35 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 6 | |
| Juventus | 2015–16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 6 | |||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
| Watford | 2016–17 | Premier League | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 5 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 6 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 83 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 258 | 24 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 300 | 27 | ||
- 1.^ Includes UEFA Champions League Qualification and Italian Super Cup.
International
- As of match played 11 September 2019
| Argentina national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 2 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 October 2018 | Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Iraq | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 7 June 2019 | Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina |  Nicaragua | 5–1 | 5–1 |
Honours
Juventus
- Serie A: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Coppa Italia: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2015
Watford
- FA Cup runner-up: 2018–19