# Nicolás de la Cruz

Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (born 1 June 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.

## Club career
### River Plate

On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.

### Flamengo

On 24 December 2023, it was announced that de la Cruz would join Brazilian club Flamengo at the start of the 2024 season, signing a four-year contract.

## International career

De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team. He was captain of Uruguay under-20 team which won 2017 South American U-20 Championship and reached semi-finals of 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-man preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador. He was later included in the final squad and made his senior debut on 8 October 2020 in Uruguay's 2–1 win against Chile. He started the match and played 55 minutes before getting replaced by Nahitan Nández.

## Personal life

De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez. Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Liverpool | 2015–16 | Uruguayan Primera División | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 2016 | Uruguayan Primera División | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Liverpool | 2017 | Uruguayan Primera División | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Liverpool | Total | Total | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 8 |
| River Plate | 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| River Plate | 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 30 | 4 |
| River Plate | 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 8 |
| River Plate | 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 |
| River Plate | 2022 | Argentine Primera División | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 |
| River Plate | 2023 | Argentine Primera División | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 7 |
| River Plate | Total | Total | 137 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 49 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 214 | 36 |
| Flamengo | 2024 | Série A | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 41 | 2 |
| Flamengo | 2025 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Flamengo | Total | Total | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 47 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 187 | 33 | 25 | 0 | 59 | 9 | 27 | 4 | 297 | 46 |
* ↑ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Appearances in Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup and Recopa Sudamericana
* 1 2 Appearances in Supercopa Argentina
* ↑ Appearances in Campeonato Carioca
* ↑ Five appearances in Campeonato Carioca, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil

### International

    As of match played 15 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Uruguay | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 2022 | 7 | 2 |
| Uruguay | 2023 | 6 | 3 |
| Uruguay | 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 32 | 5 |
    Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de la Cruz goal.
List of international goals scored by Nicolás de la Cruz :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 11 June 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Panama | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 September 2022 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | Canada | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 September 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Chile | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 8 September 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Chile | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 17 October 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Brazil | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |

## Honours

Liverpool Montevideo
* Segunda División: 2014–15
River Plate
* Copa Argentina: 2017, 2019
* Supercopa Argentina: 2017, 2019
* Copa Libertadores: 2018
* Recopa Sudamericana: 2019
* Argentine Primera División: 2021, 2023
* Trofeo de Campeones: 2021, 2023
Flamengo
* Copa do Brasil: 2024
* Supercopa do Brasil: 2025
* Campeonato Carioca: 2024, 2025
Uruguay U20
* South American U-20 Championship: 2017
Uruguay
* Copa América third place: 2024
Individual
* South American Team of the Year: 2023
* Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024