| Mateo García | |
| Fullname: | Mateo Ezequiel García |
| Birth Date: | 10 September 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Córdoba, Argentina |
| Currentclub: | Atlas |
| Clubnumber: | 8 |
| Youthclubs1: | Instituto |
| Years1: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Instituto |
| Caps1: | 37 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2016–2019 |
| Clubs2: | Las Palmas |
| Caps2: | 19 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Years3: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs3: | → Osasuna (loan) |
| Caps3: | 11 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2018 |
| Clubs4: | → Alcorcón (loan) |
| Caps4: | 21 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Years5: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs5: | → Aris (loan) |
| Caps5: | 30 |
| Goals5: | 10 |
| Years6: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs6: | Red Star Belgrade |
| Caps6: | 15 |
| Goals6: | 4 |
| Years7: | 2020–2023 |
| Clubs7: | Aris |
| Caps7: | 90 |
| Goals7: | 10 |
| Years8: | 2023– |
| Clubs8: | Atlas |
| Caps8: | 21 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 9 March 2024 |
Mateo Ezequiel García (born 10 September 1996) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a Left winger for Liga MX club Atlas.
Born in Córdoba, García graduated from Instituto's youth setup. He made his first team debut on 6 June 2014, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–1 away loss against Defensa y Justicia in the Primera B Nacional.[1]
García scored his first professional goal on 24 May 2015, netting his side's last in a 2–0 win at All Boys.[2] He subsequently established himself as a regular starter, scoring two goals in 2016. Instituto's coach at the time, Héctor Rivoira, praised García, saying that "we have a boy with special qualities. He's different than the rest. We just need to take it easy with him."[3]
On 5 August 2016, Instituto announced the sale of García to La Liga side UD Las Palmas for a fee of $440,000.[4] The four-year deal was made official by the Canarians the following day.[5] He made his top-tier debut for the club on 10 September, starting in a 1–2 away loss against Sevilla FC.[6]
García scored his first goal for the Amarillos on 20 December 2016, netting the first in a 2–1 home win against SD Huesca in the season's Copa del Rey.[7] On 10 January 2017, he made an assist and scored a goal in a 2–3 away win against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey Round of 16.[3] His first goal in the league came on 20 January 2017, netting the first in a 1–1 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña.[8]
On 13 July 2017, García was loaned to CA Osasuna of the Segunda División for a year.[9] The following 11 January, he moved to fellow league team AD Alcorcón, also in a temporary deal.[10]
On 5 July 2018, García joined Superleague Greece side Aris on a one-year loan deal.[11] He made his debut on 27 August 2018 and combined it with a goal and an assist, helping to a 3–0 away win against Lamia.[12] On 17 September 2018, he sealed a 2–0 home win against Levadiakos.[13] On 26 September 2018, in the dying minutes of the first half Mateo scored with an excellent finesse shot, equalizing the score in a 1–1 away win against PAOK for the group stages of the Greek Cup.[14] On 30 September 2018, he was the MVP of a 2–0 home win against Asteras Tripolis, having won a penalty and scored the second goal.[15] On 21 October 2018, he scored an early opener in a derby match against PAOK. This goal was not enough to help his team take the three points, as PAOK managed to overturn the score.[16] On 12 November 2018, Mateo opened the score before the first minute was completed in an eventual 2–1 away win against Apollon Smyrnis.[17]
On 31 January 2019, after some very poor performances, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Xanthi[18] and three days later he defined another game in favour of his team, scoring in a 1–0 home win against PAS Giannina, in the battle for a Europa League spot.[19] Mateo continued his excellent goaling streak, by scoring in an away match against Asteras Tripolis sealing an emphatic 3–0 win.[20]
On 5 May 2019, in the last matchday of the season, he scored a brace in a 7–2 home win against Xanthi.[21] Mateo finished the season with 11 goals and 1 assist in 32 games.
On 18 August 2019, García signed a four-year contract with Red Star Belgrade, with his transfer from Las Palmas costing €1.8 million.[22] His transfer was the second most expensive acquisition in Red Star's history at the time, only behind that of Richmond Boakye.[23] On 21 August 2019, he scored a goal on his debut for Red Star in their 2–2 tie with BSC Young Boys in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League play-off.[24]
On 2 October 2020, he returned to Aris, signing a four-year contract.[25] The club paid a fee in excess of €1,300,000.[26] On 18 April 2021, Mateo scored sealing a 2–1 away win against Panathinaikos. This was his first league goal and second in for the Argentine, who has struggled throughout the season.[27]
His first goal of the 2021–22 season came in a 3–1 away win against Atromitos on 27 September 2021.[28]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Instituto | 2015 | Primera B Nacional | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | Primera B Nacional | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| Total | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
| Las Palmas | 2016–17 | La Liga | 19 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | 23 | 4 | ||
| Osasuna (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Alcorcón (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | ||
| Aris (loan) | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 30 | 10 | 2 | 1 | — | 32 | 11 | ||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2019–20 | Serbian SuperLiga | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 5 | |
| Aris | 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 29 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| Total | 59 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 192 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 215 | 31 | |||