Cristian Ansaldi


Cristian Daniel Ansaldi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Italian club Torino, and the Argentina national team.
A defender who plays with both feet, he is equally at ease as a right or left back. Although dribbling mostly with his right foot, he prefers to shoot with his left.

Club career

Newell's Old Boys

Born in Rosario, Ansaldi started his professional career in 2005 and quickly progressed to become a regular player in the Newell's Old Boys first team.

Rubin Kazan

In January 2008, he was sold to Rubin Kazan, with whom he won the Russian Premier League in 2008 and 2009.

Zenit

Ansaldi left Rubin Kazan for Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2013.

Atlético (loan)

On 1 August 2014, he went on loan to Atlético Madrid for the upcoming La Liga season. Nine days later, his hip collided with the head of teammate Mario Suárez in a friendly at VfL Wolfsburg, causing to the latter a brain injury.
He made his competitive debut in the first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España on 19 August, a 1–1 draw away to Real Madrid, in which he came on after 64 minutes for fellow debutant Guilherme Siqueira.

Genoa

Ansaldi went on loan to Genoa for the 2015–16 season, the loan contract included the buyout option. The transfer was made permanent on 31 May 2016 when the club activated the €4 million clause.
On 22 June 2016, Ansaldi agreed on a contract with Internazionale, under the assumption that Genoa would trigger the buyout option in the loan contract, and sell him on to Inter. However, Genoa did not make the payment to Zenit St. Petersburg by the deadline of 30 June 2016 and the player rights reverted to Zenit, as his Zenit contract was valid until the summer of 2017. Despite this unexpected outcome, Ansaldi still represented Inter against WSG Wattens on 9 July 2016, the first pre-season friendly. He was included in the pre-season tour in the US. On 29 July, Zenit announced that they finalised the transfer deal with Genoa.

Internazionale

On 30 July 2016, Ansaldi joined Internazionale on a permanent deal from Genoa, with Diego Laxalt moved to opposite direction. He suffered a ligament injury shortly after joining which kept him out for several weeks. Ansaldi played his first game for the team on 29 September 2016 in a 3–1 loss against Sparta Prague in the first match of 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Group K. Ansaldi concluded his first Internazionale season by making 26 appearances in all competitions, including 21 in league. He was sent off during the match against Palermo, provided his first and only assist in the 2–2 draw at Torino.
Ansaldi was an unused substitute in Inter's first two 2017–18 Serie A matches before joining Torino on loan.

Torino

On 31 August 2017, Ansaldi joined Torino on a two-year loan deal, with the agreement including an obligation to buy the player permanently. He made his debut for Torino on 20 September 2017, away against Udinese, won 3–2. He scored his first goal for the club on 31 March 2018, in a 4–0 win against Cagliari.

International career

Ansaldi was called for Argentina on 14 November 2009, for a friendly game against Spain.
In May 2018 he was named in Argentina’s 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
112 November 2014Boleyn Ground, London, England41–12–1Friendly

Honours

Rubin Kazan
Atlético Madrid
Zenit Saint Petersburg