Juan Izquierdo, a Uruguayan footballer who played for Nacional, died on Tuesday days after collapsing during a Copa Libertadores match in Brazil. He was 27 years old.
Izquierdo died at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo after “cardio-respiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia,” according to authorities.
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Juan Izquierdo of Uruguay's Liverpool plays during a Copa Libertadores match against Argentinos Juniors in Montevideo, Uruguay, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodónico)
Doctors said earlier this week that he had been admitted to neurological intensive care due to increased intracranial pressure. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday.
He collapsed last Thursday during Nacional's match against Sao Paulo.
“For many, Juan Izquierdo, my Juanma, my best friend, my husband, the father of my children, my unconditional companion. Today a part of me dies with you,” wrote Izquierdo's wife, Selena, on the player's social media.
She shared the message to “say goodbye to my better half, the love of my life.”
Izquierdo's teammate, Mateo Antoni, remembered him as a mentor and a friend.
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Juan Manuel Izquierdo of Uruguay's Liverpool, left, controls the ball under pressure from Julio Joao Ortiz of Ecuador's Independiente del Valle in Montevideo, Uruguay, May 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)
“I can't describe how great you were to me,” she told him in a letter. “What I'll take with me for the rest of my life is that I know I'll always have your back because I know you'll have mine.”
Izquierdo began his professional career at Cerro in Uruguay's Primera División, but didn't stay long. He moved through the league, from Peñarol to Wanderers and then Nacional and Liverpool. He played four games for Atlético in Mexico's Liga MX.
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He rejoined Nacional in 2024 after 27 games at Liverpool, helping the team to a Uruguayan league title in 2023. He started 13 of the 14 games in which he appeared.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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