Léo Cristaldo

Léo Cristaldo came through Vélez Sarsfield's academy, known in Argentina as "La Fábrica", and signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2025, tying him to Vélez until December 2027. As a graduate of the youth system, his move into the senior structure came without a transfer fee. He has spent the 2025 season with the reserve side, Vélez Sarsfield II, while beginning to feature among the substitutes for the first team in the Liga Profesional Argentina and the Copa Argentina.

Born in Lomas de Zamora, Cristaldo holds Paraguayan nationality and has built his early international profile with Paraguay's youth sides. At Under-17 level he has earned 13 caps, a run that included seven appearances, six of them starts, at the South American U17 Championship in 2025. He carried that form into the FIFA U-17 World Cup the same year, starting all four of Paraguay's matches and playing the full 390 minutes across the tournament.

A left-footed defender, he has yet to make a competitive start for Vélez's first team, with his involvement so far limited to the bench. He has, however, already collected silverware with the senior squad, sharing in the club's Supercopa Argentina and Super Copa International wins in 2025. His name appeared in squad lists for matches into the middle of 2026.