Javier Pastore

Lore & Background

Pastore began his club career with Talleres and then Huracán in his native Argentina before moving to Serie A team Palermo in 2009 for a reported transfer fee of €4.7 million. In 2011, French side Paris Saint-Germain bought him for a reported €39.8 million. He won numerous domestic honours with the club, including five Ligue 1 titles, before joining Roma in 2018 for a fee of €24.7 million. He later had brief spells with Spanish club Elche and Qatari side Qatar SC before retiring. At international level, Pastore made his senior debut in 2010, and went on to make over 20 appearances for his country. He represented Argentina at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and at three editions of the Copa América, reaching consecutive finals of the latter competition in 2015 and 2016.

Reader's Guide

Pastore was born in Córdoba in an Italian-Argentine family originally from Volvera, Turin. He started his career in the youth system of the Argentine club Talleres, and slowly worked his way up to the first team. In 2007, he made his debut in the Argentine second division under the wing of manager Ricardo Gareca. In 2007, he only managed to play five games.

During the 2008 season, Pastore was loaned to Huracán of the Argentine Primera. He made his professional debut for Huracán on 24 May 2008 in a 1–0 loss to River Plate. In the 2009 Clausura championship, he established himself as a regular first-team player for the club under the management of Ángel Cappa. This was his breakthrough tournament, where his side narrowly missed out on the championship title.

His performance against River Plate was particularly lauded, where he opened the scoring with a 25-yard shot and then scored again with a piece of individual brilliance, helping Huracán win 4–0 in the club's biggest win against River Plate in over 60 years. He ended up as the team's top scorer with seven goals and three assists. Pastore and teammate Matías De Federico were integral to Huracán's title challenge that season. On 11 July 2009 Palermo formally announced the signing of Pastore for five years until 30 June 2014, with the transfer fee listed at approximately €4.7 million.

Before his move to Palermo, the player was also linked to number of other top European clubs, including Manchester United, Porto, Milan and Chelsea. Pastore's debut was on 15 August in the Coppa Italia, while his debut in Serie A came eight days later. His breakthrough game was on 4 October against Juventus, when he assisted Edinson Cavani's goal in a 2–0 win, appearing on all the websites and national newspapers. He scored his first Serie A goal on 30 January 2010 in a 2–4 away defeat to Bari.

In his first season at Palermo, Pastore proved himself as being a promising but inexperienced youngster, playing mostly as a second-half substitute under head coaches Walter Zenga and, later, Delio Rossi. Pastore then established himself as a regular under the tutelage of Rossi, usually playing in a role behind the regular striking duo of Fabrizio Miccoli and Edinson Cavani. Thanks to his performances, all praised by fans and pundits, Palermo finished off the season in fifth place, thus qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

Did You Know?

• Pastore scored his first career hat-trick in a derby match against Catania on 14 November 2010.
• He was named in the UNFP team of the season in 2014–15.
• Pastore vacated his number 10 jersey to new signing Neymar as a welcome gift.
• He scored his first senior international goal in a 2–1 friendly victory against Ecuador on 31 March 2015.