Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo, 27, has died several days after collapsing during a game on August 22, 2024. He died on Tuesday, August 27, at a hospital in Brazil where he had been receiving treatment after the game against Sao Paulo at Brazil’s Morumbi stadium.
While his condition was reportedly listed as "stable," he was put on a ventilator on Sunday then was put into neurological critical care, per BBC and the Associated Press. The hospital said that he died after "cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia," AP reported.
Izquierdo lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground during the soccer game. The collapse did not involve another soccer player, reported ESPN.
His team, Club Nacional de Football, took to X to share the news. "It is with the deepest sorrow and shock in our hearts that the Club Nacional announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo," Nacional wrote, per ESPN. "We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss."
"RIP Juan, you will be with us forever," the post concluded.
Izquierdo started his professional soccer career in 2018. According to BBC, he did not have a known heart condition. His wife, Selena, shared a heartfelt message on Izquierdo's social media accounts. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Selena had just recently given birth to the couple's second child, per BBC.
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His wife wrote on social media to "say goodbye to my half, the love of my life."
"For many, Juan Izquierdo, my Juanma, my best friend, my husband, the father of my children, my unconditional partner. Today a part of me dies with you,” she wrote, per AP.
One of Izquierdo’s teammates, Mateo Antoni, also shared a message for Izquierdo, writing about how Izquierdo was always there for him.
"I can’t describe how great you were with me," he said, per AP. "What remains with me for all my life is that I know that I will always watch your back because I know you will be watching mine."
