An Argentine international, Salvio has represented his country since 2009.
Club career
Lanús
Salvio was born in Avellaneda, a port city in the province of Buenos Aires. At only 17, he was promoted to the first team of Club Atlético Lanús for the 2007 Apertura, but did not appear in any games in the tournament as the Granate finished in top position.
Salvio made his debut for Lanús' first team on 24 August 2008, in a game against Boca Juniors. He scored his first goal(s) for the club in a 4–2 win against Argentinos Juniors, exactly two months later.[3] Overall, he netted nine goals in the season as the team finished fourth overall, and was also its joint-leading goal scorer, along with José Sand.
On 19 August 2009 Salvio scored twice in the first leg of Lanús' first stageCopa Sudamericana match, netting two late goals to help his team come from behind to defeat River Plate (2–1 away win, 3–1 on aggregate).[4] In early January 2010, after months of speculation, he signed for Atlético Madrid in Spain, for a reported transfer fee of €10 million.[5]
On 19 August 2010, after speculation linked him to several clubs, mostly in Spain but also in Portugal,[8]Benfica and Atlético Madrid agreed on a season-long loan for Salvio, with the Lisbon club also buying 20% of his rights for €2.5 million.[9] On 18 December he opened his goal scoring for Benfica, scoring twice in a 5–2 home win against Rio Ave.
After a relatively slow start to Portuguese football, Salvio became a regular fixture for Benfica in the second part of the campaign, partnering several compatriots in the squad and usually appearing as a right winger. On 20 February 2011 he scored the first goal in a 2–0 away win against city rivals Sporting[10] and, three days later, he netted his first goal in European competition, with an impressive 20-yard strike against Stuttgart in the Europa League's round of 32 (2–0 away success, 4–1 on aggregate);[11] to finalize that week, in a home league match against Marítimo, he scored the equalizer minutes after the away side opened the scoring, in an eventual 2–1 home win, and finished the campaign with 39 official games and ten successful strikes.
Salvio officially returned to Atlético on 19 May to begin his rehabilitation on a calf injury sustained whilst still at Benfica, in a Europa League game against PSV.[12] He continued to be regularly played by both Gregorio Manzano and his successor, compatriot Diego Simeone.
In March 2012, in two games separated by only five days, Salvio scored three goals: he started with a rare header to put the visitors ahead at Sevilla in an eventual 1–1 draw,[13] then added a brace in a 3–1 home win against Beşiktaş in the campaign's Europa League.[14]
On 31 July 2012, Benfica and Atlético Madrid agreed on Salvio transferring permanently to the Portuguese side for five years, with Benfica paying a reported €11 million for eighty percent of his economic rights. With the remaining twenty already owned by them, Salvio transfer summed up a then club record €13.5 million – surpassing the previous record of €12 million paid to Barcelona to acquire the services of Simão Sabrosa in 2001.[15][16] He marked his comeback in style, scoring the first of a 2–2 home draw against Braga on 18 August.[17] He scored a career high, thirteen goals throughout the 2012–13 season.
On 31 August 2013, late into the first half of a local derby at Sporting, Salvio suffered a severe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to his right knee, going on to miss several months.[18] It was his second serious injury in only two years (the first, in his foot, also at the service of Benfica).[19] He marked his return from injury in less than six months, playing the last 15 minutes of a 1–0 UEFA Europa League win against PAOK[20]
Salvio scored his first goal of the campaign on 3 April 2014, netting the game's only in an away success over AZ Alkmaar, for the same competition.[21] His only other goal that came against Porto in the Portuguese Cup semi-finals as Benfica reached the final with a 3–1 victory.[22] On 20 April 2014, he suffered another injury, this time breaking his arm in a 2–0 win against Olhanense, as Benfica clinched their 33rd league title in the same day. Although being expected to be out for the remainder of the season,[23] he returned to the fields just ten days later, coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against Juventus, with Benfica reaching their second consecutive UEFA Europa League final.[24] Although Salvio's season was injury-plagued, he enjoyed great success as the club won the domestic treble.[25]
Salvio started the new season with goals against Paços de Ferreira[26] and Vitória Sétubal.[27] He scored his only European goal of the season, against Bayer Leverkusen on 1 October 2014.[28] Four days later, he scored his third league goal of the season, against Arouca, and made one assist in a 4–0 home win.[29] On 22 November, he scored twice in a 4–1 win against Moreirense in the fourth round of Portuguese Cup. On 18 January 2015, Salvio scored twice at Marítimo (0–4) in Primeira Liga.[30] He again suffered an injury on the final day of the season, as he once again tore his ACL on his right knee, which caused him to miss most of the 2015–16 season.[31]
Salvio returned from injury on 12 February 2016, as a substitute in a 2–1 home loss to Porto. He mostly made sporadic substitute appearances in the final three months of the season, as he failed to regain his true form. However, he was still able to celebrate another league and league cup triumphs.
On 16 June 2016, Salvio renewed his contract with Benfica for two more seasons.[32] On 28 October, after scoring the second goal in a 3–0 win against Paços de Ferreira, Salvio became the Argentine player with the most goals scored for Benfica (42), surpassing former teammate Nicolás Gaitán.[33] On 12 December, he scored his third career goal against city rivals Sporting and, during the second half, once again suffered a serious injury, this time dislocating his right shoulder.[34] He recovered less than a month and helped the club to their fourth straight league title. On 29 May 2017, during the 2017 Taça de Portugal Final, he scored a header against Vitória de Guimarães.
During the 2017–18 season, Salvio scored 9 goals in 26 appearances, finishing as the club's second top scorer, behind Jonas.[35]
Boca Juniors
On 18 July 2019, Benfica announced that Salvio had returned to his home country to join Boca Juniors.[36]
UNAM Pumas
On 4 July 2022, Salvio was announced as new player of Mexican side UNAM Pumas for the Apertura 2022.
In May 2018, Salvio was named in Argentina's 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia.[41] He featured in the team's first two matches, playing as a right-back.[42]
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