The Argentine national football team is in the final stages of clinching its third World Cup victory. On Sunday, December 18th, Argentina will face France in a battle for a new star on their banners. Rodrigo de Paul in the final is all but guaranteed. His performance for the national team has been nothing short of outstanding during the whole World Cup.
Rodrigo Javier de Paul, now 28 years old, is a key member of Diego ‘Cholo’ Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid team. The versatile midfielder has excelled in this World Cup, showing off his skill and willingness to put in extra work for his squad.
Rodrigo De Paul, a product of Racing Club de Avellaneda (commonly known as Racing). He became a pro in 2012 at the age of 18.
- From Spain, he was purchased in 2014 and transferred to Valencia. In 2016, he spent only four months back at Racing on loan from another team.
- After just 20 days with Morcegos, he was traded to the Italian club Udinese Calcio. There, he started making a name for himself and rising in the ranks.
- In October of 2018, while playing for his Serie A club, he earned his first request to join the Argentina national team. His debut came in a friendly match against Iraq, which the South Americans won 4–0.
A number of Europe’s biggest clubs took notice of him after his strong play for Udinese and his country’s national team.
De Paul was signed by Atlético de Madrid on July 12, 2021, only two days after his country, Argentina, won the Copa America. His reputation as a hard-working midfielder has grown in recent years. Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine team’s coach, remarked before their journey to Qatar that Rodrigo De Paul fills a function for which it is rare to obtain another player in modern football.
Image Courtesy of Juan Mabromata (EPA)
- Argentina’s six Cup games coming up to the championship were all with De Paul. Rodrigo didn’t contribute to his team’s goals or assists at the World Cup, but he did serve 88% of the total minutes and managed to avoid getting any yellow cards even a single time.
- De Paul is one of the positive results of Jorge Sampaoli’s revamping of the Argentine national squad following their poor 2018 performance, in which they were ousted in the round of 16.
Rodrigo de Paul’s Private Life
Often referred to as the “World Cup Heartthrob”, Rodrigo De Paul is presently dating actress, singer, and model Martina Stoessel from Argentina. In the summer of 2021, when Rodrigo De Paul signed with Atletico Madrid, rumors began circulating about their possible romantic involvement. In August of 2022, the pair went public with their romance thanks to an Instagram post from Rodrigo De Paul.
Are they still dating?
There have been many rumors that Rodrigo De Paul and Martina Stoessel had separated after a hard patch in their relationship. As a response, De Paul posted an Instagram photo appreciating Stoessel and putting an end to the speculations.
When this madness started, I told you that I was not going to fail you, that I was going to stay until the last day, and here we are keeping our word. (Google Translated)
– Rodrigo de Paul via Instagram
