Gastón Exequiel Ramírez Pereyra

Fray Bentos gave Uruguayan football a playmaker good enough to leave Peñarol's youth ranks and go straight into Serie A. Bologna signed Gastón Ramírez in 2010 for a fee north of three million euros, and within two years Southampton paid around ten million pounds to bring him to the Premier League — a transfer that placed him among the more expensive South American exports of his generation.

England became the setting for the longest stretch of his career. After four seasons at Southampton he spent a loan year at Hull City, then moved on to Middlesbrough as a free agent. None of the English clubs turned him into a fixture at the very top of the table, but the run through three different sides showed a player clubs kept wanting to take a chance on.

Italy called him back in 2017, when Sampdoria signed him for close to five million euros. He stayed four seasons in Genoa, longer than at any other club in Europe, before shorter spells at Monza and Virtus Entella took him through the final years of his time in Italian football.

A move to Argentina's San Lorenzo in 2023 preceded his return home. Peñarol brought him back as a free agent for the 2024–2025 season, closing a circle that had opened when he made his senior debut there as a teenager out of the club's academy. He joined Boston River at the start of 2026.

With the Uruguay national team, Ramírez won 43 caps without scoring. He was part of the squad that reached the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup, took Uruguay to fourth place at the 2013 Confederations Cup, and featured at the 2016 Copa América and the 2012 Olympic Games.