Mateo Ponte

Mateo Ponte came through Danubio's academy, which he joined at the age of ten, and made his debut for the club's senior side in the Uruguayan Primera División against River Plate. Danubio dropped into the Segunda División not long after, and Ponte stayed on, helping the club straight back up to the top flight before leaving for Botafogo, a move completed for a fee of US$2 million with a sell-on clause left in Danubio's favour.

At Botafogo the right-back has established himself as a regular starter and was part of the squad that won the 2024 Copa Libertadores and the 2024 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. The club rewarded him with a contract extension running to 2028, and he has since passed 100 appearances at professional level.

Ponte's development has run in parallel through the Uruguayan youth ranks, where he won the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and featured at the South American U-20 Championship that year. He received his first call-up to the senior national team in June 2023, for friendlies against Nicaragua and Cuba.