Diego Alfonso Valdés Contreras (born 30 January 1994) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX club América and the Chile national team.
 Valdés in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Alfonso Valdés Contreras[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 January 1994[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Puente Alto, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | América | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2014 | Audax Italiano | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2016 | Audax Italiano | 63 | (13) |
| 2016–2018 | Morelia | 90 | (12) |
| 2019–2021 | Santos Laguna | 90 | (19) |
| 2022– | América | 88 | (33) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015– | Chile | 30 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 December 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2022 | |||
Club career
Audax Italiano
He made his professional debut in 2012, in a match against Universidad Católica for the Chilean Primera División.
Morelia
Valdés joined Monarcas Morelia from Audax Italiano on June 14, 2016, on a two million dollar move.[2] Valdés made his debut on July 15, 2016, against Club Tijuana losing 2–0.[3]
America
Valdés joined Club America from Club Santos Laguna on January 1, 2022. On 30 August 2023, Valdés renewed his contract with America until 2026.[4] Valdés won the Liga MX with America on 17 December 2023.
International career
Valdés was expected to play for the Chile national under-20 football team in the 2013 South American Youth Championship in Argentina. However, he was left out of the team at the last minute by manager Mario Salas.
The team's performance in Argentina qualified them for a place in the Turkey 2013 under-20 World Cup and when team member Diego Rojas was injured and unable to play, Valdés was selected to take his place.[5]
He got his first call up to the senior Chile squad for a friendly against the United States in January 2015 and made his international debut in the match.[6]
International goals
- Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.[7]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 June 2018 | Stadion Miejski, Poznań, Poland |  Poland | 1–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 12 October 2023 | Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile |  Peru | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Racism controversy
On September 10, 2018, a day before a friendly match between Chile and South Korea, Valdés made a racist gesture, slanting his eyes with his hands at a fan publicity event.[8] The gesture was reported internationally and created furor in Korea, resulting in Valdes posting an apology widely seen as inadequate.[9][10][11] This was the second racist incident in Korea from a visiting South American team, following a similar incident in 2017 in which Colombian football player Edwin Cardona was banned for five games by FIFA after making a similar gesture.[12][13]
Honours
América
Individual
- Liga MX Best XI: Apertura 2021, Clausura 2022
- Liga MX All-Star: 2021[15]
- Liga MX Best Offensive Midfielder: 2022–23
References
External links
- Diego Alfonso Valdés Contreras at Liga MX (archive) (in Spanish)
- Diego Valdés at Soccerway
- Diego Valdés at Fichajes.com (in Spanish)