# Mathías Villasanti

Mathías Adalberto Villasanti Rolón (born 24 January 1997) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio and the Paraguay national team.

## Club career

Mathías made 36 league appearances including 31 starts in the 2019 season, in the same season he also featured in the Copa Libertadores on ten occasions. “The Copa taught me some great lessons and made me a better player. The game against Mineiro, in truth, was one of the most beautiful things in the tournament because with the push of our fans we added goals in the blink of an eye.”

### Grêmio

On 12 August 2021 Grêmio officially announced the signing of Villasanti from Cerro Porteño on a US$3.3m transfer fee, with a contract running until December 2024.

## Player profile

Mathías Villasanti primarily plays as a defensive midfielder, although he has also taken on offensive roles within the midfield. He is right-footed, and his playing style has been praised by various specialized media. According to the sports website Versus, Villasanti is a "dynamic and versatile" player.
On June 20, 2023, Víctor Martín J., a journalist specializing in tactical analysis for the newspaper As, described him as a player with "a highly technical and virtuosic playing style" and "a remarkable ability to set the offensive rhythm in the final third," referring to him as "the brain of the albirroja."
In 2023, Villasanti was awarded the Bola de Prata as the best midfielder in Brazilian football, alongside other accolades. That same year, he was also named Paraguayan Footballer of the Year by ABC Color. Additionally, the Mexican newspaper Vanguardia stated that "Grêmio has the most talented player in the midfielder position" and described him as a "box-to-box midfielder."
After the first four rounds of the 2026 South American World Cup Qualifiers, Mathías Villasanti was recognized as the "highest-rated" Paraguayan player by the football data platform Sofascore, with an average score of 7.5. According to this site, Villasanti achieved an 88% pass accuracy, 86% long pass success rate, 80% successful dribbles, 64% duels won, along with 20 recoveries and 17 tackles. He was also included in the Team of the Matchday for the first round of the qualifiers by CONMEBOL.

## International

Villasanti made his senior national team debut on 10 October 2019 in a friendly against Serbia.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 11 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Gauchão | Gauchão | Copa do Brasil | Copa do Brasil | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Grêmio | 2021 | Série A | 16 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 1 |
| Grêmio | 2022 | Série B | 32 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 43 | 2 |
| Grêmio | 2023 | Série A | 30 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 3 | – | – | 48 | 7 |
| Grêmio | 2024 | Série A | 26 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 4 |
| Grêmio | 2025 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 104 | 10 | 35 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 158 | 15 |
* ↑ Appearances in Copa Libertadores

### International

    As of 19 November 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Paraguay | 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 2021 | 12 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 2023 | 7 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 2024 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 46 | 0 |

## Honours

Grêmio
* Campeonato Gaúcho: 2022, 2023, 2024
* Recopa Gaúcha: 2022, 2023

### Individual

* People's Player, by APF: 2020
* Team of the Matchday 1 in the 2026 South American Qualifiers, by CONMEBOL: 2023
* Paraguayan Footballer of the Year: 2023
* Best Central Midfielder in Brazil: 2023
* Bola de Prata: 2023
* Team of the Tournament of the Copa do Brasil: 2023.