José Manuel Alberto López

Ten goals in the 2024 Paulista made José Manuel López the state championship's top scorer.

The route there ran through the third tier. In March 2019, Lanús sent the forward on loan to Colegiales de Tres Arroyos, in Argentina's third division. He helped the club win its league and reach the Regional Federal Amateur. The loan was extended by six months in 2020 for that competition, but the pandemic cut the tournament short and López returned to Lanús.

Before any of it he was at Club El Progreso, then a trial at Boca Juniors at around eight years old that did not lead to a place in the club's system. Independiente's academy took him from 2010 to 2017; he joined Lanús straight afterwards.

On 16 June 2022 Lanús confirmed his move to Palmeiras. The Brazilian club paid seven million US dollars for 70 per cent of his economic rights, leaving 30 per cent with Lanús, on a five-year contract running to December 2027 with options through 2029. Two Brasileirão titles followed in 2022 and 2023, the Brazilian Supercup in 2023, and Paulista titles in 2023, 2024 and 2026. In the 2024 Brasileirão he scored eight goals with four assists in 21 matches, including two against Santos that August. In 2025 he finished the Copa Libertadores as its leading scorer with seven goals and was named in the competition's team of the year.

His Argentina debut came on 14 October 2025, a 6-0 friendly win over Puerto Rico. He was in the squad for the 2026 World Cup, where Argentina lost the final to Spain 1-0.