Lucas Sanabria (Uruguayan footballer)

Nacional

Born in Florida, Sanabria began playing football aged eight with Nacional de Florida. Aged 17, he arrived at Nacional of Montevideo. He played two seasons in the fourth team, and one in the third team, under Álvaro Recoba.^[1]

Sanabria signed a professional contract in January 2024.^[2] He made his debut in the Uruguayan Primera División on 16 February 2024, starting in a 2–1 home win over River Plate Montevideo, and five days later he scored his first goal to open a 2–0 win away to Academia Puerto Cabello of Venezuela in the Copa Libertadores.^[3]

In April 2024, Sanabria missed some matches, which manager Álvaro Recoba credited to tendonitis.^[4] He scored his first goal on 23 June in a 4–0 win away to Cerro Largo, heading before half time.^[5] In July, with his contract lasting until December 2026, he was linked with a move to the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer.^[6]

LA Galaxy

On 8 February 2025, Sanabria signed a five-year deal with LA Galaxy, reigning holders of the MLS Cup. He was allocated one of the club's under-22 slots.^[7] The transfer fee was US$5 million, with Nacional to receive US$1.8 million more if conditional clauses were met, in addition to 20% of the next transfer fee. Nacional president Flavio Perchman revealed that the club owned only 60% of Sanabria's economic rights to begin with, which he considered "something unusual".^[8]

Sanabria made his debut on 23 February in a 2–0 home loss to new MLS club San Diego FC, and in the following game, he suffered a collarbone injury against Vancouver Whitecaps FC and was ruled out for over a month.^[9] On 31 May, he scored his first goal to open a 2–0 home win over Real Salt Lake, as the Galaxy ended a 16-game winless start to the season that was the worst in MLS history.^[10]