Uruguay legend sets world record with 28th transfer of his absurd club career

You know how most people hate moving? Sebastian Abreu must not be one of those people.

The ex-Uruguay international set a new world record by completing his 28th transfer of his career, recently signing with Brazilian third division side Bangu. That marks Abreu’s 23rd club over his 22-year career, spanning nine different countries.

That’s a lot of U-Haul miles.

All in all, Abreu has played in his native Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Israel, Greece, Paraguay, and El Salvador. The 40-year-old’s longest tenure was with his second club, San Lorenzo, which lasted just two seasons.  But of all his stops, perhaps the most bizarre was at Deportivo La Coruna, where Abreu was under contract for six seasons from 1998-2004, but made only 15 appearances for the La Liga side while going on SEVEN different loan spells.

Abreu’s nickname is “El Loco,” so it sounds like maybe Abreu just has a bit too much crazy in him to stick with a club for an extended period of time. But Abreu could really play and he’s been strikingly efficient wherever he’s gone.

The journeyman forward made 70 caps for Uruguay in his career and scored 26 international goals, good for 7th on the country’s all-time list. He scored the winning penalty kick (per Panenka!) against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and helped his country win the 2011 Copa America. And over his club career, Abreu’s tallied 292 league goals in 579 appearances, a clip of .50 goals per game.

That’s a remarkable record, but despite it all, Abreu will be most known for having the most complicated career timeline on Wikipedia. Shame.

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