Lucas Ocampos

At 29 years old, Lucas Ocampos has this physical status:

Club career

At the age of six, Ocampos began playing football at Quilmes' academy, where he first appeared as a striker. By River Plate, it was with Quilmes that Ocampos was discovered. In a youth match against the Buenos Aires-based club Ocampos, Ocampos scored twice, prompting the River's leadership to follow his development. After the U15 Sudamericano, in which Ocampos excelled for Argentina, they signed him to a 50% co-ownership agreement with Quilmes, he completed his signing.

Following River Plate's relegation to the Nacional B for the first time in the club's history, Ocampos' first opportunity with the club came in 2011. In a 3–1 victory over Independient Rivadavia, he was awarded his first-team debut by boss Matas Almeyda on August 16, 2011, aged 17, against Chacarita Juniors, who scored his first goal for the club in the following match. The paths of Ocampos and Almeyda had intersected at Quilmes, where Almeyda had been a player at the time of the Ocampos' arrival at the academy. Ocampos firmly established himself in the starting lineup and was instrumental in River winning promotion to the Primera División, winning the club's promotion back to the Primera División, totaling 7 goals in 38 appearances. His form throughout the season had also been ranked as one of the 2012 Players to Watch. He made his Primera División debut against Belgrano on the first day of the following season. It would be his last game for the club, however, as he made the move to French club Monaco on August 6, 2012.

Ligue 2 side AS Monaco, owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and operated by Claudio Ranieri, completed the formalization of Ocampos for a reported €11 million, splitting Quilmes, River and a group of investors on August 6, 2012. Ocampos became the most expensive Ligue 2 signing of all time after the completion of the contract. In a 2–1 loss to Le Havre, he made his debut for the club on August 31. He was a second-half replacement for Emir Bajrami. Monaco defeated Valenciennes 4–2 in his second appearance for the club in the Coupe de la Ligue third round. Ocampos scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance in the Coupe de la Ligue. Monaco supporters named the goal, a spectacular bicycle kick in extra time, as the club's Goal of the Season. In a 2–0 victory over Istres on January 18, Gary Kagelmacher scored a goal and an assist. Ocampos made 29 appearances in the league over the course of his career, scoring four goals as Monaco returned to Ligue 1.

Monaco's promotion to Ligue 1 was followed by a spree of free-spending by Rybolovlev. The Russian owner completed the big-money signings of James Rodrez, Radamel Falcao, and Joo Moutinho, among other things, with the result that Ocampos' presence in the Monaco squad diminished. Despite being more from the bench than from the start, Ocampos scored 5 goals in 34 appearances as Monaco ended the season as runners-up to PSG, the global champions. Despite heavy investment, Monaco's struggle to win the league championship saw Ranieri fired at the end of the season and replaced by Leonardo Jardim. Despite having his game time reduced further under Jardim, Ocampos was nominated for the European Golden Boy award in October 2014, but Liverpool's Raheem Sterling was eventually awarded. In a 1–0 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, Ocampos scored his first Champions League goal. Ocampos had only seven games before the end of January 2015 and was granted his wish with a transfer to Marseille, Ligue 1 rivals.

Ocampos joined Monaco's Ligue 1 rivals Marseille on loan until the end of the season, where he teamed up with compatriot and boss Marcelo Bielsa on February 3, 2015. In a 1–1 draw with Rennes, he made his goal scoring debut for the club four days later, netting in a 1–1 draw. During his loan stint, he made 14 appearances and scored twice, leading Marseille to the fourth position in the season. Marseille announced on June 30th that Ocampos had signed for the club on a long-term contract, reportedly worth around €7 million. In a 6–0 win over Troyes on August 23, he scored his first goal of the season. The goal, another bike kick from a Romain Alessandrini cross, was later nominated for the Ligue 1 Goal of the Season award, but it was his only contribution in front of goal, as Ocampos failed to impress under new manager M.chel's resignation early in the season, and he made only 17 appearances in the league.

Genoa's Serie A side, Ocampos, announced the signing of the Ocampos on a season-long loan, with the option to buy included. He made his club debut on August 12th and joined Lecce as a second-half replacement in a 3–2 Coppa Italia victory over Lecce. He made his Serie A debut against newly promoted Cagliari in a 3–1 victory. Ocampos suffered ligament damage in his knee in September, causing him to be out of action for a month. In a 1–1 draw with Udinese on Monday, he returned to Genoa on November 6th and scored his first goal for the Genoa. In a 3–1 loss to Lazio, he scored his second goal before scoring his third and last goal for the club on January 22, 2017. Genoa and Marseille have signed an agreement to allow Ocampos to join fellow Serie A side A.C. Milan for the remainder of his loan term for the remainder of his term.

Milan reported the loan signing of Ocampos for the remainder of the season on January 30, 2017, with Genoa retaining the option to buy from Marseille at the end of the loan term. He was signed as a replacement for Frenchman M'Baye Niang, who had gone on loan to Premier League side Watford. In a 1–0 loss to Sampdoria, Ocampos made his first appearance for the club on February 5th, arriving as a late second-half replacement for Andrea Bertolacci. He played sporadically for the club, but at the end of the season, he returned to Marseille having played a total of 29 games and scored 3 goals in all competitions during his time with Genoa and Milan.

Following his return to Marseille, Ocampos scored on his first Ligue 1 appearance, netting the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nantes on August 12, 2017. In the game against Nice, he scored a brace and beat Marseille 4–2. He maintained his form through the first half of the season, scoring 6 goals in 15 league appearances by the end of the year, which culminated in his transfer to Torino in January. He remained in Marseille, but in a 9–0 victory over Bourg-en-Bresse on Sunday, he earned his first career hat-trick. The result was also Marseille's biggest win in 70 years. He was also active in the club's Europa League career and helped the team reach the final of the competition, where they lost 3–0 to Atlético Madrid, Spain's third party. During his time with Marseille, he remained with the club the following season before moving to Spain, scoring 28 goals in 135 appearances.

Ocampos agreed to a five-year deal with Sevilla, which was unveiled on July 3rd. In a 1–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, he scored the winning goal for Sevilla in the 88th minute in the 88th minute. Ocampos scored 14 goals in La Liga to finish fourth in the table and then won the Europa League in his debut season with Sevilla. In the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, he scored on a penalty in 1–2 loss to Bayern Munich.

Ocampos signed for Ajax on a season-long loan with a buy option included worth €16 million on August 31, 2022. Antony's direct replacement for Ocampos, who had just joined Manchester United for a historic Ethical fee of €100 million.

International career

Ocampos made his senior Argentina debut on October 9, 2019, during a friendly against Germany, coming as a half-time replacement for ngel Correa and scoring a late equalizer in a 2–2 draw.

Source