Nicolás Iván "Nico" González (Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas iˈβaŋ ɡonˈsales]; born 6 April 1998) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger or wide midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid, on loan from Serie A club Juventus, and the Argentina national team.
After over ten years in the club's youth system,[3][4] González made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors in a 2015–16 Copa Argentina defeat to Deportivo Laferrere of Primera C Metropolitana in July 2016.[2] He made his Primera B Nacional debut on 28 August against San Martín prior to scoring the first of his four goals in 2016–17 on 23 April 2017, getting the winner against Atlético Paraná.[2] In total, González made twenty appearances in 2016–17, a season which ended with Argentinos winning promotion to the Argentine Primera División.[2][5][6] He scored on his first top-flight start, scoring the opening goal in a defeat to Belgrano.[2]
On 10 July 2018, González signed a five-year contract with VfB Stuttgart.[7] He scored twice on his unofficial debut for the club, netting in a friendly victory over FV Illertissen on 18 July.[8] His first competitive goal arrived during a home loss to Schalke 04 on 22 December.[2] They were relegated at the end of 2018–19, with González subsequently scoring the winner on his 2. Bundesliga bow against FC St. Pauli on 17 August 2019.[9] He scored consecutive braces in June 2020 against Sandhausen and Nürnberg, the latter of which was his 100th league appearance for Stuttgart.[2][10]
On 25 November 2020, González extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2024.[11]
On 23 June 2021, González signed a five-year contract with Serie A club Fiorentina until 2026.[12] On 13 August, González made his debut for Fiorentina in a 4–0 win against Serie B side Cosenza in the first round of Coppa Italia scoring the second goal in the 37th minute.[13] On 18 May 2023, González scored a brace in Fiorentina's second leg UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final victory against Basel, sending his side to the final against West Ham United.[citation needed]
On 25 August 2024, González joined Serie A club Juventus on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy.[14][15] Juventus reported the transfer fees as €8 million for the 2024–25 season loan (with up to €0.4 million in additional costs), followed by the permanent transfer for €25 million, with an additional performance-based fees up to €5 million. The obligation to buy is conditional, but the conditions are highly likely to be triggered, thus Juventus accounted for the move as a permanent transfer.[16]
A month later, on 17 September, he scored his first goal on his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–1 win over PSV Eindhoven.[17] In summer 2025, Juventus signed González permanently for a reported transfer fee of €28.1 million.[18]
On 1 September 2025, González joined La Liga club Atlético Madrid on an initial loan deal worth €1 million with an obligation to buy for €35 million depending on the number of games he plays for Atlético.[19]
In July 2019, González received a call-up from the Argentina Olympic Team for said year's Pan American Games in Peru.[20] After receiving a red card on his debut against Ecuador,[21] he played again in the semi-final and the gold medal match when Argentina won the tournament.[2] Months later, González was selected by Lionel Scaloni's senior team for the first time ahead of October friendly matches against Germany and Ecuador.[22][23] He did not feature in the matchday squad against Germany, but appeared for his international bow during a 6–1 victory over Ecuador at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero in Elche on 13 October.[2]
González scored his first goal for Argentina on 12 November 2020 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Paraguay that ended in a 1–1 draw.[2][better source needed] He netted again days later against the same opponent.[citation needed]
González was a member of the 2021 Copa América winning side, making five appearances in the tournament, four as a starter and one as substitute in the final against Brazil. He was also called up to Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, but was forced to withdraw with a muscular injury three days before the start of the tournament, being replaced by Ángel Correa.[24][better source needed]
In June 2024, González was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.[25] During the final against Colombia, González had to replace Lionel Messi after he suffered an ankle injury in the second half. 18 minutes after he entered the pitch he scored a goal, but it was ruled off.[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Argentinos Juniors | 2016–17 | Primera B Nacional | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | |
| 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 24 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 7 | ||
| Total | 44 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 47 | 11 | |||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 33 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 15 | |||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 6 | |||
| Total | 72 | 22 | 5 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 79 | 23 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2021–22 | Serie A | 33 | 7 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 8 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 24 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13[c] | 6 | — | 42 | 14 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 29 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 13[c] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 16 | |
| Total | 86 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 38 | ||
| Juventus (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6[d] | 1 | 4[e] | 0 | 38 | 5 |
| Juventus | 2025–26 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Juventus total | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 230 | 61 | 23 | 5 | 32 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 291 | 77 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 November 2020 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 4 |  Paraguay |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 17 November 2020 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru | 5 |  Peru |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 25 March 2022 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 18 |  Venezuela |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 28 March 2023 | Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina | 22 |  Curaçao |
2–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 12 September 2023 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia | 25 |  Bolivia |
3–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 10 September 2024 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | 41 |  Colombia |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Argentinos Juniors[2]
Fiorentina
Argentina Olympic
Argentina[30]
Individual
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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