Manchester City
Nicolás Otamendi played for which team from 2015 to 2016?
Nicolás Otamendi Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi ( born 12 February 1988 ) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Argentina national team . Otamendi played for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto in his early career , winning eight major titles with Porto , including three Primeira Liga championships and the 2011 Europa League . He signed for Valencia in 2014 and spent four months on loan to Atlético Mineiro of Brazil . In 2015 he moved to Manchester City and won the Premier League in 2017–18 and 2018–19 , as well as four League Cups and an FA Cup . An Argentina international since 2009 , Otamendi represented his country at two World Cups and three Copas América , in which he contributed to consecutive runner-up finishes . Club career . Vélez . Born in Buenos Aires , Otamendi made his Primera División debut for Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield on 10 May 2008 , in a 2–1 home win against Rosario Central for the Clausura tournament . During manager Hugo Tocallis spell he was only fifth-choice stopper , behind Waldo Ponce , Fernando Tobio , Marco Torsiglieri and Mariano Uglessich . However , his role in the first team changed during Ricardo Garecas first season as head coach , the 2009 Clausura : he replaced Ponce for the third game after the Chilean was injured while playing for his national team , and eventually won a starting position alongside Sebastián Domínguez , playing 17 of the 19 games in Vélezs winning campaign . Otamendi scored his first professional goal during the 2009 Apertura , in a 3–1 victory over Arsenal de Sarandí . During that season he also made his debuts in an international club competition , appearing in the Copa Sudamericana ; in recognition of his performances throughout the year he was chosen for the South American Team of the Year , in a traditional continent-wide journalists poll conducted by the newspaper El País . Porto . On 23 August 2010 , Otamendi was transferred to Portuguese side FC Porto on a €4 million fee , signing a five-year contract . Vélez also retained 50% of his registration rights , with the player having a pre-set price of another €4 million to be met by Porto prior to September 2011 . He netted in his first match , a 2–0 home victory over S.C . Olhanense , finishing his first season with 15 appearances and five goals ( notably both in a 2–0 away win against S.C . Braga ) as the northerners won the Primeira Liga championship . On 6 September 2011 , Porto exercised the rights to sign the remainder of Otamendis playing rights . He played 30 official games during the season to help the club to another two major titles , notably the back-to-back domestic league . Valencia . On 5 February 2014 , Otamendi was sold to Valencia CF in La Liga for €12 million , on a five-year contract starting on 1 July . He was immediately loaned to Clube Atlético Mineiro in Brazil , and played 19 times for the team from Belo Horizonte , scoring once to open a 4–1 win at city rivals América Futebol Clube ( MG ) on 23 March in the first leg of the semi-finals of the state championship . Otamendi made his debut in the Spanish top level on 23 August 2014 , starting in a 1–1 away draw against Sevilla FC . He scored his first goal for his new club on 4 October , helping to a 3–1 home success over Atlético Madrid . On 4 January 2015 , Otamendi headed Valencias winner in a 2–1 home win over Real Madrid , ending their opponents club record 22-match winning streak as a result . After helping Los Che qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years , becoming the first club stopper to score six goals in the league in the process , he was the only player from his team to be named in the La Liga Team of the Year . Manchester City . Late into the 2015 pre-season , Otamendi refused to train or play with Valencia to avoid thwarting his chances of signing with another club . On 20 August , he joined Manchester City on a five-year deal for a fee of £32 million . He made his debut on 15 September , coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Vincent Kompany in a 1–2 home loss against Juventus for the Champions League group phase ; his Premier League debut came four days later , in a 1–2 defeat to West Ham United at the City of Manchester Stadium . On 31 October 2015 , Otamendi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home win over Norwich City . He played the full 120 minutes as they won the Football League Cup on 28 February 2016 , defeating Liverpool on a penalty shootout in the final . On 10 December 2017 , Otamendi scored the winning goal in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford , helping City stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to 11 points . City would go on to lift the Premier League title that season with a record-breaking 100 points , this was Otamendis first league title in England . On 18 April 2018 , Otamendi was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Manchester City teammates Kyle Walker , David Silva , Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Agüero . In the 2018-19 season , Otamendi helped Manchester City become the first English side to win a domestic mens treble , consisting of the League Cup , Premier League title and FA Cup . In his final season at Manchester City , Otamendi made 39 appearances in total . He also helped his side retain the League Cup for the third season in a row in March 2020 , his final trophy with City . Benfica . On 29 September 2020 , Otamendi joined Benfica on a three-year contract , for a €15 million fee , with Benfica defender Ruben Dias moving to Manchester City in exchange . He made his league debut in a 3–2 win against Farense on 4 October . Otamendi was at fault for both of Farenses goals and conceded a penalty during the match . In Benficas UEFA Europa League group stage clash with Rangers on 5 November , Otamendi received a straight red card in the 19th minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity ; Benfica would fall 1–3 down but eventually earn a 3–3 draw . International career . In April 2009 , Otamendi was called up by Argentine national team coach Diego Maradona for a friendly with Panama . At the time of his selection he had only played 11 professional games , and eventually started the match on 20 May , in a 3–1 win . During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign , Otamendi played as a centre back alongside Martín Demichelis against Ecuador ( 0–2 away loss ) , partnered former Vélez teammate Domínguez against Brazil in a 1–3 home defeat and appeared as a right back in a 1–0 win in Uruguay which sealed the countrys qualification to South Africa . On 19 May 2010 he was confirmed as part of the 23-men squad for the final stages , featuring in the starting eleven for the final group stage game against Greece ; on the press conference after the match , Maradona said that , in his opinion , he was the best player on the field . Otamendi also played the 90 minutes of the round-of-16 game against Mexico , which Argentina won by 3–1 . His final appearance in the tournament was the 0–4 quarter-final loss to Germany : this time his performance received criticism by the football press , as did his managers decision to improvise him on the right-back position ; however , the player subsequently stated his desire to always play for his national team , even if not in his natural position . Otamendi scored his first goal for Argentina on 2 September 2011 , in a 1–0 friendly win over Venezuela in Kolkata , after heading a corner taken by Lionel Messi . After being cut from the squad that later appeared at the 2014 World Cup , he was selected by coach Gerardo Martino for the 2015 Copa América , playing the entirety of all but one match as they lost to hosts Chile on a penalty shootout in the final ; he was named in the Team of the Tournament . Otamendi started all the games in the Copa América Centenario in the United States , in which Argentina again both faced Chile in the tournament final and lost in a penalty shootout , 2–4 . In the second group match against Panama , on 10 June 2016 , he scored the opening goal in a 5–0 win . Otamendi was included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup . Honours . Vélez - Argentine Primera División : 2009 Clausura Porto - Primeira Liga : 2010–11 , 2011–12 , 2012–13 - Taça de Portugal : 2010–11 - Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira : 2011 , 2012 , 2013 - UEFA Europa League : 2010–11 - Taça da Liga runner-up : 2012–13 Manchester City - Premier League : 2017–18 , 2018–19 - FA Cup : 2018–19 - Football League/EFL Cup : 2015–16 , 2017–18 , 2018–19 , 2019–20 - FA Community Shield : 2018 , 2019 Argentina - Copa América runner-up : 2015 , 2016 - superclasico de las americas 2019 Individual - South American Team of the Year : 2009 - La Liga Team of the Season : 2014–15 - Copa América Team of the Tournament : 2015 , 2016 - PFA Team of the Year : 2017–18 Premier League External links . - Vélez Sarsfield official profile - Argentine League statistics