José María Giménez

For the Spanish cyclist, see José María Jiménez.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gímenez and the second or maternal family name is De Vargas.

José María Giménez de Vargas (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse maˈɾi.a xiˈmenes ðe ˈβaɾɣas];^[α] born 20 January 1995) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and captains the Uruguay national team.

José María Giménez

Giménez with Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	José María Giménez de Vargas[1]
Date of birth	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth	Toledo, Uruguay
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Atlético Madrid
Number	2
Youth career
	Danubio
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	Danubio	16	(0)
2013–	Atlético Madrid	250	(6)
International career‡
2013	Uruguay U20	13	(0)
2013–	Uruguay	94	(8)
Medal record Representing  Uruguay Men's Football Copa América 2024 United States FIFA U-20 World Cup Runner-up 2013 Turkey
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025

After starting out his professional career with Danubio FC, Giménez moved to Spain, signing for Atlético Madrid ahead of the 2013–14 season.^[2] A solid, powerful and fast moving defender, Giménez settled quickly with the club, winning four major titles with the latter, including the La Liga title in his debut season.^[3]

At international level, Giménez made his Uruguay debut in 2013, and has since represented the nation at three FIFA World Cups and five editions of the Copa América.

Club career

Danubio

Born in Toledo, Giménez made his professional debut for Danubio F.C. in the Uruguayan Primera División on 17 November 2012 (when the manager was Juan Ramón Carrasco) against River Plate in which he started and played the full 90 minutes as Danubio lost the match 2–0.^[4]

Atlético Madrid

Giménez with Atlético in 2018

On 25 April 2013, it was confirmed that Giménez had signed for €900,000 with Spanish side Atlético Madrid, and would join the club in the pre-season of the 2013–14 season.^[2] On 14 September, Giménez made his Atleti – and La Liga – debut, starting in a 4–2 home win over UD Almería.^[5]

Giménez scored his first goal for the club on 6 December 2014, opening a 2–0 win away to Elche CF to move Atlético into second place.^[6] He also scored a header against their biggest rival Real Madrid in Atlético's 2–0 win in the Copa del Rey in January 2015.

On 20 February 2019, Giménez scored the opener in 2-0 home win against Italian champions Juventus to give Atlético the advantage in the first leg of the Round of 16 fixture in the UEFA Champions League.^[7]

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Giménez was made third captain of the team, behind Koke and Jan Oblak.^[8]

International career

Giménez (upper row, second from the right) lining up for a team photo during the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Giménez participated for Uruguay at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup as the team finished as runner-up to France.^[9]

He debuted for the Uruguay senior team in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Colombia on 10 September 2013.^[9]

On 2 June 2014, Giménez was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.^[10] The 19-year-old defender made his tournament debut against England in the team's second group match, deputising for the injured captain Diego Lugano in a 2–1 victory for La Celeste. ^[11] He went on to start in the final group match – a 1–0 win over Italy – and the 2–0 round of 16 loss to Colombia.^[12]

Giménez scored his first international goal in a 1–0 friendly win against South Korea on 8 September 2014.^[13] In May 2015, he was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2015 Copa América by coach Óscar Tabárez.^[14] On 20 June, he scored Uruguay's goal in a 1–1 draw with Paraguay which saw both teams progress to the knockout stage.^[15]

In May 2018 he was named in Uruguay's provisional 26-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[16] On 15 June, with the score tied at 0–0, he scored the winning goal in the final minute of Uruguay's opening game of the World Cup against Egypt.^[17]

In March 2019, Tabárez included Giménez in the final 23-man Uruguay squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil.^[18] He headed the equaliser in the 2–2 group draw with Japan in Porto Alegre,^[19] and was the only Uruguayan in the Team of the Tournament despite a quarter-final exit.^[20]

Personal life

José is married to Regina Iafolla, who he had been dating since they were teenagers. They have two children together, Lautaro and Luciano.^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 April 2025^[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Danubio	2012–13	Uruguayan Primera División	16	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
Atlético Madrid	2013–14	La Liga	1	0	1	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2014–15	La Liga	20	1	4	1	4[a]	0	—		28	2
	2015–16	La Liga	27	1	2	0	8[a]	0	—		37	1
	2016–17	La Liga	17	0	6	1	6[a]	0	—		29	1
	2017–18	La Liga	23	1	4	1	11[b]	0	—		38	2
	2018–19	La Liga	21	0	2	0	5[a]	2	1[c]	0	29	2
	2019–20	La Liga	21	0	0	0	5[a]	0	1[d]	0	27	0
	2020–21	La Liga	21	0	1	0	4[a]	1	—		26	1
	2021–22	La Liga	24	1	1	0	7[a]	0	1[d]	0	33	1
	2022–23	La Liga	28	2	3	0	5[a]	0	—		36	2
	2023–24	La Liga	22	0	3	0	7[a]	0	1[d]	0	33	0
	2024–25	La Liga	25	0	3	0	8[a]	1	0	0	36	1
	Total		250	6	30	3	70	4	4	0	354	13
Career total			266	6	30	3	70	4	4	0	370	13

1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
2. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
4. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[23]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Uruguay	2013	3	0
	2014	12	2
	2015	10	1
	2016	5	0
	2017	9	1
	2018	8	3
	2019	11	1
	2020	2	0
	2021	13	0
	2022	8	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	9	0
	2025	2	0
Total		94	8

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.^[22]

List of international goals scored by José Giménez

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 September 2014	Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea	South Korea	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	13 November 2014	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Costa Rica	2–2	3–3
3.	20 June 2015	Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile	Paraguay	1–0	1–1	2015 Copa América
4.	4 June 2017	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–1	1–3	Friendly
5.	7 June 2018	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uzbekistan	3–0	3–0
6.	15 June 2018	Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia	Egypt	1–0	1–0	2018 FIFA World Cup
7.	7 September 2018	NRG Stadium, Houston, United States	Mexico	1–0	4–1	Friendly
8.	20 June 2019	Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre, Brazil	Japan	2–2	2–2	2019 Copa América

Honours

Atlético Madrid

• La Liga: 2013–14,^[24] 2020–21^[25]
• Supercopa de España: 2014^{[citation needed]}
• UEFA Europa League: 2017–18^[26]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2018^[27]
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2013–14,^[28] 2015–16^[29]

Uruguay U20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2013^[30]

Uruguay

• Copa América third place: 2024^[31]

Individual

• Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2019^[20]

Notes

1. In isolation, Vargas is pronounced [ˈbaɾɣas].