Piero Hincapié

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Wikipedia

Piero Hincapié
Hincapié with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022
Personal information
Full name Piero Martín Hincapié Reyna[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-09) 9 January 2002 (age 23)
Place of birth Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back, left-back
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
(on loan from Bayer Leverkusen)
Number 5
Youth career
2009–2010 Emelec Esmeraldas
2010–2012 Barcelona Esmeraldas
2012–2013 Norte América
2013–2016 Deportivo Azogues
2016–2019 Independiente del Valle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Independiente del Valle 3 (0)
2020–2021 Talleres 14 (0)
2021– Bayer Leverkusen 116 (5)
2025– → Arsenal (loan) 3 (0)
International career‡
2019 Ecuador U17 11 (0)
2021– Ecuador 50 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:59, 23 November 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025

Piero Martín Hincapié Reyna (born 9 January 2002) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Arsenal, on loan from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, and the Ecuador national team.[3]

Club career

Early career

Hincapié began playing football at the age of seven, initially for local clubs Escuela Refinería, Emelec and Barcelona.[4][5] Aged ten, the defender moved to Guayaquil with Norte América.[5] After a spell with Deportivo Azogues, he joined Independiente del Valle in November 2016.[6] Hincapié was promoted into their first-team in August 2019 for a Serie A match with Mushuc Runa.[3] He was selected to start and played the full duration of a narrow home defeat.[3] In the subsequent 2020 campaign, shortly after winning the U-20 Copa Libertadores, Hincapié made appearances off the bench against Universidad Católica and Macará.[3]

Talleres

On 20 August 2020, Hincapié agreed a five-year contract with Primera División side Talleres; who paid $1,000,000 for 50% of his pass.[7][8]

Bayer Leverkusen

In August 2021, Hincapié signed for the German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.[9] He made his debut on 16 August, coming into the Europa League group stage match against Ferencváros as Leverkusen won 2–1.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September, scoring the opening goal against Celtic in a 4–0 victory in the Europa League.[11] In the 2023–24 season, Hincapié was part of the Leverkusen team that won the club’s first ever Bundesliga title.[12]

Loan to Arsenal

On 1 September 2025, Hincapié joined Premier League club Arsenal on a season long loan with an option to buy reportedly set at £45 million (€52 million).[13][14] He made his debut off the bench against Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Champions League on 16 September. He had picked up a groin injury shortly after the game during training.[15] On 26 October, Hincapié made his league debut, also from the bench, against Crystal Palace. He made his full debut and his EFL Cup debut on 29 October against Brighton & Hove Albion.

International career

Hincapié appeared for the Ecuador U15s in 2017.[4] In 2019, Hincapié represented his country as captain at U17 level.[3][5] He played seven times at the South American U-17 Championship in Peru, before featuring four times at the subsequent FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.[3][5]

Hincapié was selected in the 28 player Ecuador squad for the 2021 Copa América.[16] On 13 June 2021, Hincapié debuted for the Ecuador senior squad in a 2021 Copa América match against Colombia, playing the full match as Ecuador lost 1–0.[17]

On 14 November 2022, Hincapié was named in Ecuador's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[18] He played 90 minutes in the group stage win against Qatar,[19] the draw against the Netherlands,[20] and defeat against Senegal.[21]

Hincapié was called up to the final 26-man Ecuador squad for the 2024 Copa América.[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 November 2025[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Independiente del Valle 2019 Ecuadorian Serie A 1000—00—10
2020 Ecuadorian Serie A 2000—00—20
Total 3000—00—30
Talleres 2021 Argentine Primera División 14020—6[c]0—220
Bayer Leverkusen 2021–22 Bundesliga 27100—6[d]1—332
2022–23 Bundesliga 30100—13[e]0—431
2023–24 Bundesliga 26150—12[d]0—431
2024–25 Bundesliga 32230—9[f]11[g]0453
2025–26 Bundesliga 1010———20
Total 116590—402101667
Arsenal (loan) 2025–26 Premier League 3000102[f]0—60
Career total 136511010482101977
  1. ↑ Includes Copa Argentina, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  7. ↑ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

As of match played 18 November 2025[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ecuador 2021121
2022120
202360
2024132
202570
Total503

Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Piero Hincapié
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 November 2021Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador Venezuela1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
216 June 2024Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, United States Honduras2–12–1Friendly
326 June 2024Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, United States Jamaica1–03–12024 Copa América

Honours

Independiente del Valle[3]

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad list: Ecuador (ECU)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Piero Hincapie". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Ecuador - P. Hincapié". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 "El crecimiento futbolístico de quien sueña jugar en Europa". La Hora. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Piero Hincapié, el admirador de Puyol que asombra en Ecuador". Marca. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Piero Hincapié, de Independiente del Valle al primer equipo del Talleres de Córdoba argentino". El Universo. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "Piero Hincapié es nuevo refuerzo de Talleres". Talleres. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "Talleres presentó por Zoom a Piero Hincapié: "Estoy ansioso por jugar"". Mundo D. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen sign Ecuador teenager Piero Hincapie". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  10. ↑ UEFA.com. "Leverkusen-Ferencváros". UEFA. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ruthless Leverkusen punish sloppy Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Bundesliga: Three South American players were champions with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga". Copa America. 15 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Piero Hincapie completes loan move to Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "Arsenal sign defender Hincapie from Leverkusen". BBC Sport. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  15. ↑ https://tbrfootball.com/when-arsenal-actually-expect-piero-hincapie-to-return-from-his-groin-injury/
  16. ↑ Ecuadorian Football Federation [@LaTri] (9 June 2021). "¡Y los convocados son! Estos son los elegidos por el DT #GustavoAlfaro para encarar un desafío continental: la @CopaAmerica" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ "Piero Hincapié: Mi debut con la Selección fue una locura. No me imaginaba que iba a salir de inicio, para mí supuso un "shock"" [Piero Hincapié: My debut with the National Team was crazy. I didn't imagine it was going to start, for me it was "shocking".]. El Universo (in Spanish). 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  18. ↑ "Ecuador, el último en entregar la lista de los 26 jugadores convocados para la Copa del Mundo de Qatar 2022" [Ecuador, the last to deliver the list of the 26 players summoned for the Qatar World Cup 2022]. ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Enner Valencia double gives South Americans win". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "Enner Valencia goal earns draw for South Americans". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Ismaila Sarr & Kalidou Koulibaly put Africans into last 16". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Ecuador presenta lista oficial para la Copa América: Gonzalo Plata y Robert Arboleda quedaron relegados" [Ecuador presents official roster for Copa America: Gonzalo Plata and Robert Arboleda left off the list] (in Spanish). El Universo. 29 May 2024.
  23. ↑ Piero Hincapié at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  24. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen are 2023/24 Bundesliga champions!". Bundesliga. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen battle back to beat VfB Stuttgart on penalties in Supercup". Bundesliga. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  26. ↑ "Atalanta 3–0 Leverkusen: Lookman treble brings UEFA Europa League glory to Bergamo". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  27. ↑ "IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team 2022". IFFHS. 12 January 2023.
  28. ↑ "The CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ Best XI". Copa América. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  29. ↑ Maehder, Jürgen (2002). Germania. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.