Martín Matías Ezequiel Vargas (born 8 May 1997), nicknamed Monito (in English: "Little Monkey") is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Chinese club Shanghai Port.
![]() Vargas with Espanyol in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Martín Matías Ezequiel Vargas | ||
Date of birth | (1997-05-08) 8 May 1997 (age 25)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Salta, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Shanghai Port | ||
Number | 24 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2019 | Vélez Sarsfield | 75 | (15) |
2019–2022 | Espanyol | 42 | (0) |
2021–2022 | → Adana Demirspor (loan) | 36 | (5) |
2022– | Shanghai Port | 0 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2019 | Argentina U23 | 2 | (1) |
2018 | Argentina | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 May 2021 |
Vargas started his professional career with Vélez Sarsfield under Miguel Ángel Russo's coaching, entering the field in a 0–0 draw with Colón for the 2015 Argentine Primera División.[2]
His first game as a starter was against Defensa y Justicia for the 2016–17 Argentine Primera División under Omar De Felippe's coaching, in which he scored a goal to help his team to a 2–1 victory.[3] He went on to play 16 games (13 as a starter) in the season, scoring four goals.
On 14 July 2019, Vargas joined La Liga side RCD Espanyol on a five-year deal,[4] for a reported club record fee of €10.5 million.[5] He made his competitive debut in Europa League third qualifying round as a substitute and also scored a goal in a 3–0 win against Luzern.[6]
On 25 August 2021, Vargas was loaned to Turkish Süper Lig side Adana Demirspor, for one year.[7]
On 24 August 2022, Espanyol transferred Vargas to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port for a fee of around £3.5 million.[8]
Vargas made his international debut for Argentina on 8 September 2018 in a 3–0 international friendly against the Guatemala national football team.[9]
Vargas' father Omar, nicknamed Mono, was a former footballer who played for San Martín de Mendoza and Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza, among other teams.[10][11]
Shanghai Port F.C. – current squad | |
---|---|
|