Robert Arboleda

Robert Arboleda made his senior debut at Centro Deportivo Olmedo in 2010, after coming through the club's youth ranks. From there he worked his way through Ecuadorian football with spells at Municipal Cañar, CD Grecia and LDU Loja before joining Universidad Católica in 2015, where two productive years led to a move to São Paulo FC in June 2017.

The transfer to São Paulo came with a fee of US$2 million, and Arboleda has since established himself as a fixture in the club's defence. He made his international debut for Ecuador in 2016 and has gone on to earn 39 caps, scoring twice for the national side. He was a regular starter through Ecuador's qualification campaigns for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and his goal against Colombia in 2020 stands out as one of the defining moments of his international career.

Arboleda has represented Ecuador at three Copa América tournaments — 2016, 2019 and 2021 — as well as at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, giving him a run of major tournaments that few of his compatriots can match. Born in Esmeraldas, a province that has produced a steady stream of Ecuadorian internationals, he built his path to the national team through a series of moves across the domestic league before South American football opened the door to Brazil.